Nandigram bypolls: CPM faces

THE ruling CPIM has a hectic schedule these days, preparing for the January 5 bypolls in Nandigram....

THE ruling CPIM has a hectic schedule these days, preparing for the January 5 bypolls in Nandigram. After a royal drubbing in the trouble-hit hotspot, the Marxists are headed again for ground zero 8212; only this time, their arch-rival, the Trinamool Congress, is less potent than ever before.

Just like last summer, this is going to be an acid test for both the CPIM and the TMC. The elections will bring to the fore whether the resistance movement at Nandigram and if its aftermath was a temporary phase or it8217;s going to have a long-lasting impact on the state8217;s politics.

Already, political equations are changing. For instance, the Party for Democratic Conference in India PDCI, a wing of Jamiat-e-Ulama-e-Hind, was a staunch TMC ally during the Panchayat polls in May 2008. This time, it has fielded its own candidate.

In the Panchayat polls, the TMC went on to bag all the Gram Panchayat and Panchayat Samiti seats. The result was obvious and there were two reasons. First, the Opposition had united against the CPIM, and secondly, the March 14 police firing in Nandigram was fresh in the minds of the voters.

In seven months post Panchayat polls, the CPIM has managed to break up the Opposition. However, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee is sure that despite her party losing the PDCI as an ally, the March 14 police firing can still serve as a deciding factor in Nandigram. That is why Mamata has chosen Firoza Bibi as her candidate. Feroza8217;s son Imdadul Haque was killed in police firing. Mamata has also got the support of the Congress.

Mamata8217;s pointsman Sishir Adhikary says the PDCI8217;s ploy of fielding Badshah Alam isn8217;t going to work wonders for the ruling party. 8220;It8217;s a ploy worked out by the CPIM. Everyone knows that he was a CPIM leader at one point of time,8221; he said.

Badshah Alam is, however, of the opinion that the locals are unhappy with the way the TMC has been running the panchayat and this will translate into a change of heart in the bypolls. 8220;I may not win the election, but surely the TMC will lose a few votes.8221;

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Leader of Opposition Partha Chatterjee warned, 8220;Nandigram is too big an issue for the CPIM to think that things can turn around after the elections.8221;

The resistance movement in Nandigram flared up in January 2007, immediately after the state Government issued a notice for acquisition of 12,000 acres of land in 29 mouzas. According to an estimate by the CPIM, most of the party card-holders left it and joined the agitation led by Mamata. The scenario has not changed much even after the state Government withdrew the notice. 8220;Many of our party members are working with the TMC. There is no sign that these members will rejoin the party, and for this reason, contesting the bypolls will be very difficult for us,8221; admitted a senior CPIM leader.

Out of the 177 booths, CPIM has identified 53 booths every booth holds 1,000 votes as vulnerable and is claiming that the party is not being allowed to campaign in these villages. 8220;If our supporters are allowed to vote freely, the result will be in our favour,8221; said Biman Bose, state secretary of the CPIM. Though the party is not sure of victory, it has asked the local leaders to fight tooth and nail.

The bypolls were initially scheduled for December 27. But the Election Commission took a last moment decision to defer it to January 5, citing a serious law and order situation. The EC has asked the state Government to deploy a large number of Central paramilitary personnel in Nandigram. Seven BSF companies and eight CRPF companies have been deployed to ensure free and fair elections.