The chances of the CPI(M) joining the government seemed bleak today with the party spokesperson Sitaram Yechuri saying that the mandate is not really in his party’s favour. And this was right after the crucial CPI-M politburo meeting that discussed this issue.‘‘We don’t think this mandate has been given to us, otherwise we would have got 272 seats,’’ Yechuri said, in reply to the argument that CPI(M) is probably throwing away the mandate — 43 Lok Sabha seats in all — by not joining the government.But Yechuri did not seem ready to respond to the eagerness which was being shown on the question of the CPI(M)/Left’s participation in the new government ever since the results came out. The mood in the meeting — which would be followed by a two-day Central Committee meeting beginning tomorrow — was even more clear when Yechuri rebutted with great gusto the suggestion that his party was poised to make another ‘‘historic blunder’’ by staying out of the government.This was the first time since the question of CPI(M) joining the new Congress-led government arose, that a senior leader of the party clearly tried to build a defence for not participating in the government. Till yesterday, CPI(M) general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet kept saying: ‘‘We will clinch the issue in the Central Committee meetings.’’Refuting that the CPI(M)’s not joining the new government would make it unstable, Yechuri said: ‘‘We are supporting the secular formation. The government will be in place.’’Party sources said while the West Bengal unit was divided on joining the government taking into account the changing ground realities, the powerful Kerala bloc is aggressively against joining the government due to the compulsion of opposing the Congress in the state. Just before walking into the politburo meeting, a senior leader from Kerala said: ‘‘No, no we can’t join. What will happen to Kerala?’’Another senior leader from West Bengal, who is also a Lok Sabha MP, indicated that state Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya was not in favour of joining the government for the same reason. Meanwhile, the CPI national executive meeting was adjourned today.The Left parties will meet on Monday to announce a joint decision on the nature of support they would lend to the Congress-led government.
