Thanks, Damodar. I posted a comment there rather suggesting to recall what certain leaders of the CPI(M) had gone on record in the aftermath of the unparalleled state violence..The fierce struggles waged by the farmers to hold on their prime lands at Nandigram and Singur were not just opted to be crushed by the Left Front govt, but many of the leaders including Buddhadeb, Prakash and Brina Karats had also justified the state violence.It is all the more grave viewed against the background in which victims of these violence happened to be largely the same people who had voted the regime to power only a few months before; they were pitted to a confrontation with this regime over the issue of usurping their lands in Singur and Nandigram. CPI(M)/ LF leaders on the other hand, by and large had dubbed this grave issue just an end product of a sinister conspiracy between Trinamul and the Maoists( the latter,according to Brida Karat, undoubtedly were 'outsiders' who had reached Nandigram through sea route to create mischief at Nandigram). On another side, Mamta and the Trinamul's role in these struggles (which were actually led by the Bhumi Ucched Prathirodh Samiti and similar non party organizations) however, was much uncharacteristic of the way a parliamentary opposition party would usually behave. In the context of the so called development debates which are increasingly loaded with prejudices against village people and farmers ,parties of the ruling and the opposition come together to ultimately overcome resistances by the affected people. Generally they either show green signal or keep silence even to massive land grabs taking place in favour of giant corporates. It is in this context Nandigram and Singur have proved to be creditable exceptions, though not with out the toll of sufferings in resisting the mighty state power. By supporting the struggling farmers' cause even accepting the risk of herself being dubbed 'anti- development', Mamta could stand the ground ; she also could start a process by which the Left though by default, are now compelled to review their policies vis a vis the impact pro rich development policies in general can have on the ordinary people.
On Jun 2, 2:58 pm, damodar prasad <[email protected]> wrote: > http://www.livemint.com/2009/06/01002749/It8217s-difficult-to-face-a.... > Kolkata: Following its worst electoral performance in West Bengal in 32 > years, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM, is worried that it > may not be able to reverse the anti-incumbency wave that cost it 20 Lok > Sabha seats in the Lok Sabha polls before the assembly election in 2011. > The party is contemplating a change in leadership at the state level with an > eye on the assembly election, according to Nirupam Sen, West Bengal’s > commerce and industries minister and the No. 2 in the state cabinet. > [image: Who’s to blame? Bengal ministerand CPM politburo member Nirupam > Sen. Indranil Bhoumik / Mint] Who’s to blame? Bengal ministerand CPM > politburo member Nirupam Sen. Indranil Bhoumik / Mint > “It’s too early to predict (the outcome of the 2011 assembly election), but > yes, it is going to be a tough job—not an easy task at all,” Sen said in an > interview. “Because we have been in power for so long, facing this kind of > an anti-incumbency wave is very difficult, but we have to address it.” > “The results of the general election show that a section of the people wants > the Left Front to go…,” said Sen, who is also a member of the CPM’s > politburo—the party’s highest decision-making body. > “We will try to overcome the problems, but it is really a tough job because > in two years, how much tangible change can we bring about? And it’s going to > be tougher because of the economic downturn—my personal view is things are > going to get worse and more people are likely going to lose jobs this year.” > Asked if the CPM was weighing options on changing its leadership at the > state level, Sen said, “Some changes are bound to happen. We are discussing > among ourselves.” > In the general election, the CPM’s vote share in the state fell 5.5% from > what it was in 2004 to 33%. The party and its allies—the Forward Bloc, the > Revolutionary Socialist Party and the Communist Party of India, or > CPI—together got 43.3% of the vote, 7.5% less than in 2004, and won only 15 > of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state; in 2004, they had secured 35. > The key gainer was the Trinamool Congress—the state’s main opposition party > led by Mamata Banerjee—which, in alliance with the Congress, won 25 seats, > with the Trinamool Congress winning 19 and the Congress, six. An independent > candidate backed by the Trinamool Congress also won, taking the opposition’s > tally in the state to 26. > Details of the polling show that the CPM and its allies received fewer votes > than the Congress-Trinamool Congress combine in 193 of the 294 assembly > segments in the state; in the 2006 state election, they had secured 235 > assembly seats. > Edited excerpts: > *Why did the CPM and its allies perform so poorly in the general election?* --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
