After rout,CPM gears up for the 2011 bout

The meeting will be held at the party’s Alimuddin Street headquarters on November 28 and 29. Of a total of 3,20,000 party card holders across the state,at least 60 per cent are non-functional,a party source said,adding the trend is evident in Kolkata,North and South 24-Parganas,East Midnapore and Howrah,the districts that are Trinamool strongholds. Party cadres are also inactive in Maoist-hit West Midnapore,Bankura and Purulia,sources said.

“There is a general perception among cadres that in the 2011 Assembly elections,the party will be routed. There is a fear that once the party is out of power,cadres will be more reluctant about party work,” said a leader. “Our job is to find out those who are vacillating… it is a Himalayan task. But we have to do it,” he said.

SC/STs,tribals worry CPM
The results of the recent Assembly bypolls has set the alarm bells ringing in the CPM,which seems to be losing its grip over SC/ST and Muslim votes,which have been steadfastly loyal to it for decades. For instance,in Bongaon seat,which has a large population of SCs,the Trinamool increased its victory margin drastically from 3,465 votes in 2006 to 40,428 this time around. “This shows erosion in our SC vote bank,which is alarming for the party. SC/ST votes,it seems,have also swung to Trinamool apart from the Muslim votes,” said a senior CPM leader. The tribal vote bank is also shifting. In Kalchini constituency,Adivasi Bikash Parishad,a North Bengal-based tribal outfit,backed its own candidate,who got 30,056 votes this time around. A major chunk of tribal votes here were cornered by the LF candidate in 2006. “It is alarming that the tribals are also going against us. The Maoist problem might have an impact on them,” said Kshiti Goswami,RSP leader and state PWD minister.Bidyut Roy