Biman battles on,will now check ministers’ progress

The chief minister will also be present at the meeting.

Since there is no plan to hold Assembly election before schedule and the government will function till June 2011,the party is concerned about the performance of power,

health,rural development and education departments,which have a direct impact on people. All these departments are being chaired by ministers from the CPM.

Six months ago,in a similar drive,Bose had set goals for each minister but there was no change in their performance,a leader said.

“In the current political situation,it is very difficult for ministers to carry out fresh plans,” said a senior minister of the LF government. “The party can give fresh plans,but is it possible to carry out such programmes when there is a strong perception among the bureaucracy that days of the Left Front government is numbered?”

A CPM leader said since the party has been facing losses in almost all elections held after 2008,not just the government,the party is also facing erosion in its ranks. It will be tougher to fill the party ranks. “It is a fact that the government cannot function properly in the next 11 months,but we cannot leave everything to fate,” he said. “We know we would have to sit in the Opposition benches after the 2011 Assembly elections,still we have to work. Biman Bose will try to encourage the ministers at the meeting.”

The party wants to take up fresh programmes for the scheduled castes,minorities and for the poorer sections,said a leader. Already the Rural Development Minister has been asked to make serious efforts in implementing the National Rural Employment Programme. The Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Programme will get priority at the meeting.

“We have identified the shortcomings of the government,” said a senior leader. “But we know the ministers cannot do anything,the situation is not favorable. The chief minister visited all the districts,but nothing changed.”