Demand for change in leadership rises in CPI(M)
CPI(M) has put up its worst performance in the 2014 general election since its formation in the mid 1960s
Kolkata: In the wake of the unprecedented rout faced by the Communist Party of India (CPI)(M) in the Lok Sabha polls, the chorus for change of leadership grew louder at its ongoing state committee meeting and party general secretary Prakash Karat faced flak for its ‘faulty´ political line.
CPI(M), which put up its worst performance in the general election since its formation in the mid ’60s, has been on the boil for the last few days with demands for change of the ‘incompetent´ party leadership gaining momentum. The chorus for change in the leadership has been joined by the present mid-level leaders of CPI-M as well as its expelled leaders. So much so that the ongoing two-day state committee meeting, which began from 2 June, has been the most heated one in recent memory.
State committee leaders representing various districts without naming anyone lashed out at Karat, state secretary Biman Bose, politburo member and former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, and state leader of opposition Surya Kanta Mishra for failing to provide leadership in the time of crisis.
Karat, along with Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and politiburo member Sitaram Yechury were present at the meeting. The party, which had relinquished its power to the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal after 34 years in 2011, had managed to win just two of the 42 Lok Sabha seats this time compared to the 9 out of the 15 seats won by Left Front in 2009.
“The call for third front with regional parties just before elections didn’t find any takers among the masses just like in 2009. The line adopted by the top leadership didn’t find any takers as the third front failed to provide any alternative to the corrupt UPA regime," a state committee leader said.
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