Buddha absent from regret meeting

The meeting was short it was over by 2 pm and discussions broad. In its initial analysis,the Politburo concluded that although the Left had recorded significant achievements in its 34 years in power in Bengal,there were shortcomings in the political,governmental and organisational spheres,and it was evident that the people had opted for change.

It was a decisive verdict for change,general secretary Prakash Karat said after the meeting.

There was no mention of national issues,and he was not forthcoming when asked whether state-level issues alone were responsible for the debacle and not the tactical line adopted by the party at the national level. A detailed study would look into all these aspects,Karat said.

He said the party had identified shortcomings and problems before the elections and some steps had been taken to regain lost ground,but they were insufficient.

Karat noted that the Lefts votes had actually increased by around 11 lakh from the last Lok Sabha elections. However,while the Left felt it had regained lost ground,it did not factor in the mobilisation by its opponents,he said. The Trinamool Congresss votes went up by 34 lakh. The Bengal unit would carry out a comprehensive analysis in the next 20 days,after which the party Central Committee would meet in Hyderabad in the second week of June.

The CPM argued that even in defeat,the Left Front had won 1.96 crore votes,or 41 per cent of the total cast. Those who have written off the CPM and Left Front on the basis of these results are not only mistaken but will be proved wrong, the Politburo said.

Karat said many have written the CPM and the Lefts epitaph in Bengal,but I am afraid they are mistaken. Sources said Bhattacharjees offer to resign was mentioned briefly at the meeting,but Karat was not forthcoming about a discussion. Nobody has resigned or even offered to resign. He had informed me yesterday that he will not be attending this meeting in the light of the developments there, Karat told reporters when asked about Bhattacharjees absence. The developments he was referring to were the post-poll violence in Bengal.

Bhattacharjee,Karat pointed out,had stayed away from the Politburo meeting after the Lok Sabha polls because then too the situation was volatile. He was harsh on Bengal minister Abdul Rezzak Mollah,who criticised Bhattacharjee and Nirupam Sen after the results. Everyone should talk in party forum, he said.

Asked if the CPM was willing to accept the role of V S Achuthanandan in the respectable performance in Kerala,Karat said,Definitely,the role of V S Achuthanandan was very important in rallying large sections of the people8230; no doubt. He added,however,that there were other factors like greater unity as compared to the Lok Sabha elections while the LDF governments performance and corruption allegations against UDF leaders also played a role.

Asked whether there was internal sabotage in Kerala,Karat said,There is no such report. In some particular constituencies,we expected to win but we lost. We will examine how that happened.