CPI(M) state secretary Biman Bose may have to give up the party post so that he can focus on his other job as chairman of the Left Front. Shyamal Chakraborty, state president of the CPI(M)’s labour arm, CITU, is expected to take over the party’s top post. According to high-level sources, the party’s top brass feel Bose — who was elected the state secretary after the sudden death of Anil Biswas in the run up to the 2006 Assembly elections — has not been able to do justice to the two critical posts. Also, as state secretary, Bose doubles up as the CPI(M)’s spokesman and his handling of many sensitive issues in the recent past has upset veteran leader Jyoti Basu. The decision will be taken at the CPI(M)’s biennial state conference scheduled for February 2008. At present, the party is holding its district-level conferences. The district conferences will elect their delegates to the state conference, and it is these delegates who will elect the CPI(M) state secretary.Party sources said Chakraborty is not assured of a smooth election despite having the blessings of Jyoti Basu, since Biman has a strong hold on 19 district committees. Sources said Biman and his lobby were trying to ensure that the ‘right’ delegates are sent to the state conference. If Biman is moved out, he will be the first state secretary of the party to have ‘lost’ his post; all his predecessors held the job for their lifetime. The delegates sent by the district conferences are not necessarily members of the district committees. Sources said the conferences would send a total of around 700 delegates to the state conference. According to sources, Biman was now trying to rope in Subhas Chakraborty, the maverick sports and transport minister, who is said to have a strong following at the district level. Subhas calls Jyoti Basu his mentor and has no love lost for Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. Nor was he on good terms with the late Anil Biswas. Because of his freewheeling ways, the party has always kept him out of the state secretariat. Biman is now trying to clear the way for the induction of Subhas in this body. The district conferences are throwing up factionalism and groupism that is otherwise dormant in the party. For example, at the South 24 Parganas district conference recently, the delegates failed to elect a district secretary. Even the Chief Minister’s election agent was kept out of the district committee. (The Chief Minister represents the Jadavpur Assembly constituency in the district.) These conflicts will peak in the state conference, where the turmoil will affect more powerful players. Sources said the situation could take an unexpected turn if Jyoti Basu, who has been bedridden for the past fortnight, fails to attend the conference. Basu’s word is still considered final on any organisational matter.
