CPI-M pushes for broader opposition unity as Cong opts to go solo in polls

A day when the Congress officially announced its decision to contest the West Bengal Assembly elections on its own, the CPI-M said that it was still keen on forging a broader front of forces opposed to both the Trinamul Congress and the BJP, even as the prospects of a pre-poll understanding with the Congress appeared uncertain.

“The Left is keeping its channels of communication open to all the political groups that are against the ruling Trinamul Congress and opposition BJP,” CPM state general secretary Mohammed Salim told in a press conference on Thursday.

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The revelation of the party’s central committee member came on a day when the Congress high command has formally announced that Congress will contest all the 294 seats in West Bengal alone, keeping very little room for negotiations.

On the question of the Congress joining any such platform, Salim said the party’s state leadership had indicated that the final decision would emerge from consultations at the grassroots level.

He, however, acknowledged that there had been no meaningful progress so far on either a formal alliance or seat-sharing arrangement ahead of the Assembly polls scheduled in about three months.

The Left parties had fought the 2021 Assembly elections in alliance with the Congress and the Indian Secular Front, but the experiment failed to yield results, with all Left and Congress candidates losing and only the ISF managing to win a single seat.

Responding to queries about whether the name of suspended Trinamul Congress MLA Humayun Kabir, who has floated the Janata Unnayan Party, figured in discussions at the CPI-M’s recent state committee meeting, Salim said the party did not centre its organisational or electoral deliberations on individuals.

His clarification came amid speculation of a possible understanding after he was seen meeting Kabir at a New Town hotel last week.

“The nature of the discussion was exploratory. We wanted to know his (Kabir’s) plans and objectives particularly after the controversy surrounding the laying of a foundation stone for a mosque in Murshidabad district,” he added.

Welcoming the Supreme Court’s directive asking the West Bengal government to clear 25 per cent of the dearness allowance dues to its employees for the period between 2008 and 2019, the CPM leader said: “This is a huge relief for nearly 20 lakh government staff. The ruling reaffirmed that DA was a statutory entitlement and not a matter of discretion.”

Taking a dig at the Mamata Banerjee government, Salim said its repeated claims of financial distress stood exposed, and questioned what had happened to the revenue figures often highlighted by the state administration.