“Only Leftists can resist the anti-people, repressive, and undemocratic governments at the Center and in our state,” learn the message. “Our DYFI workers are fighting every day against all odds in this state. I salute you and wish you the best in your fight. Best wishes to all the delegates in this conference.”
This was former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s assertion to the delegates of the eleventh All India Conference of the CPI(M)’s youth wing DYFI, or the Democratic Youth Federation of India, on Saturday. The four-day convention started in Kolkata on May 12.
For a celebration that’s now seeking to acquire a toehold within the state after over a decade of steady electoral reverses, getting Bhattacharjee to deal with its youth staff is an fascinating alternative, provided that the 78-year-old former chief minister has been ailing for the previous few years and largely stayed away from public limelight since leaving workplace in 2011. This shouldn’t be the primary time the celebration has relayed Bhattacharjee’s message to its cadre. It had performed his audio message on the Brigade Parade Ground rally earlier than the Assembly elections final yr.
CPI(M) functionaries mentioned the Left had at all times had mass leaders on account of its participation in varied actions since Independence. Former Chief Minister Jyoti Basu was an iconic chief who towered over the state’s political panorama for 3 a long time and after he stepped again from politics in 2000, Bhattacharjee emerged because the CPI(M)’s face. Under his management, the Left Front received the 2001 and 2006 Assembly elections comfortably.
“His visionary statements, simple life, a cultural background, and honest image helped him become the perfect substitute for Jyoti Basu,” mentioned a veteran CPI(M) chief. “The party has had leaders like Anil Biswas, Biman Bose, Surjya Kanta Mishra, and Rabin Deb, but none with Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s heft.”
Many within the CPI(M) management imagine the celebration’s decline has been the results of its failure to seek out leaders with the mass enchantment of Basu or Bhattacharjee. Said a celebration chief, “Not solely does Buddha babu have the picture of an peculiar and sincere chief, he additionally delivered as a chief minister. During his time, Kolkata noticed actual industrialization within the companies and IT trade. The younger technology anticipated that after the completion of Singur and different proposed industries, the state of affairs will change in Bengal. But, that didn’t occur. Still, a majority of Bengalis imagine that Buddha babu had the imaginative and prescient and honesty to ship. No different CPI(M) chief has that credibility.”
The celebration has been attempting to push younger leaders to the fore however with out a lot success. In the Assembly elections final yr, the youth comprised 60 per cent of the celebration’s candidates — together with DYFI state secretary Minakshi Mukherjee in Nandigram towards Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari — however the celebration was trounced. The Left didn’t win a single seat.
During the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the youth staff of the Left shaped a bunch referred to as “Red Volunteers” to assist individuals going through emergencies. The group earned reward throughout, particularly on social media, however its efforts weren’t sufficient to translate into substantial votes for the Left within the civic polls that adopted within the following months. According to a piece of the CPI(M) management, this occurred as a result of the celebration doesn’t have a well-liked and credible face within the state.
A youth chief mentioned it was not sufficient to herald recent faces when there isn’t any chief with the stature of somebody like Bhattacharjee. “To improve the celebration’s credibility, we nonetheless want to point out Buddha babu. After he refused the Padma Bhushan, his credibility as a Communist chief elevated.”
The newly elected DYFI all-India common secretary Himaghnaraj Bhattacharya mentioned, “We by no means forgot our heritage. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is our first all-India common secretary. In 1967, when 4 youth organizations merged to type the DYFI, he was our chief. So, we can’t overlook him. He additionally made us see the imaginative and prescient of industrialization and employment. No doubt that his message will give us additional energy.”
For the Left’s rivals, bringing again the previous CM to the political stage, if even by way of an audio message, is an indication of the CPI(M)’s political chapter and reveals they haven’t any younger chief who can take the celebration ahead.
Senior Trinamool Congress chief and state minister Firhad Hakim mentioned, “The CPI(M) has no iconic chief proper now. Since its defeat in 2011, it has not had such a frontrunner. The final iconic chief within the CPI(M) is Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. So, the CPI(M) thought if they might present Buddha babu’s message that may make a distinction to their staff.”
BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya accused the CPI(M) of “playing a desperate partisan and communal role since the past year to capture the minority vote bank”. He added, “To suppress that picture, they’re utilizing Buddha babu, who has a relatively clear picture and had an acceptance amongst middle-class, educated Bengalis. But, this has uncovered their political chapter.”
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
