Almost crestfallen in the wake of the decision of CPI-M Central Committee not to have any truck with the Congress, a section of the state Congress leadership are pinning their hopes on the CPI-M’s party congress scheduled to be held in Hyderabad.

More than anywhere else in the country, the Congress had made considerable political gain after having cobbled together an electoral understading with the CPI-M-led Left Front and had taken on Trinamul Congress together in the state Assembly elections last year.

The party congress is unlikely to ignore the party problem combatting the loss of support base on its own, a senior Congress leader said. Apart from joint floor management in the Assembly, Congress and CPI-M leaders coming together on several burning issues, including police firing, put more pressure on the ruling party than activists of only one party hitting the streets, said another senior leader hoping for a rethink at the party congress.

Be it a joint movement on issues like fuel price hike or combatting communalism, the two parties have certain ideological similarities which cannot be overlooked, said a senior Congress leader who was among the others who helped stitch together the electoral undertstanding last year.

It is the state leadership of the CPI-M who are only too aware that its party will be in a most unenviable position once the AICC directs the PCC to come to terms with Trinamul,a senior Congress leader pointed out. It would be unfortunate to let Trinamul leadership dicate terms to state Congress as the latter’s seat share will be reduced and CPI-M vote share further curtailed.

It may be recalled though the Congress and Trinamul had formed an alliance to unseat the Left Front government in 2011, things turned sour between the two allies soon. The Congress ministers resigned from the Cabinet after the Trinamul withdrew support from UPA II government.

The coming together of the Congress and the Front last year had failed to unseat the TMC government. But the electoral understanding had paid rich dividends to the Congress.

A Congress legislator, Abdul Mannan had become the leader of the Oppostion in the state Assembly leading successive floor managements between the two parties often catching the Treasury benches in the wrong foot.

The Trinamul leadership engineering defections from the ranks of CLP also remains a sore point with the PCC, a senior leader said. What the CPI-M leaders have to realise at the party congress is that going alone in the parliamentary elections next year and subseuently at the state Assembly elections in 2021 will further dent their political existence.