NEW DELHI: The victory in Kerala was badly marred by the slump in West Bengal for the Left as part of it had believed the propaganda that it was on an ascendant---along with the Congress party---in the eastern state of India. And the quiet voices emerging from the state that this was not so, that the Congress-Left alliance had failed to take off in West Bengal, were not heard in the din.

There is this difference between the CPI(M) in West Bengal and in Kerala, and perhaps the story of failure or success lies in the nature of this dissimilarity. It has to do with the nature of the cadres---Kerala always being a little less arrogant than West Bengal in its political history---but also to do with the uninterrupted 30 odd years of rule by the party as against the intermittent nature of governance in Kerala. The fact that the Left in West Bengal was not in the opposition, with new cadres feeling the benefit of government and not of struggling in opposition, had a debilitating impact on the party cadres. Besides the fact that many, not ideologically moored in the Left, joined the ‘establishment’ and contributed to further distancing the government from the people. Arrogance, goon culture, disconnect with the masses all contributed to a resounding defeat for the Left with Singur and Nandigram being the trigger.

In Kerala, on the other hand, apart from the face off between the two main leaders who settled their differences in these elections with one becoming the Chief Minister and the other the Fidel Castro of Kerala, the party organisation was not crippled by the baggage of power. Used to transiting from government to the opposition in one election, the Left here remained on its toes and despite many problems was able to infuse young blood into the party, and delegate leadership in the districts accordingly.

This defeat in West Bengal will cost the Left dear as clearly the attack on the party, its cadres, its offices by the Trinamool Congress that has emerged stronger than before, will be renewed with new ferocity. The last years have been particularly difficult for the party struggling to survive targeted attacks designed to rob it of its support base across the state. It was perhaps one of the reasons why a section of the party decided to short circuit an earlier decision not to tie up with the Congress electorally, and actually enter into a sort of last minute poll pact with it.

This was projected as a response to pressure from below but it seems to have been an imposition from above with the party cadres unable to reconcile to an alliance with the Congress on the ground. And build up a campaign justifying the last minute decision that suddenly brought foes on to the same table, without agreement on issues on the ground. The Left was decimated in the process and is now entering a second struggle to survive the wave of violence that has already been unleashed against its voters and workers.

Kerala is good news for the Left, as of course remains Tripura, where the Chief Minister Manik Sarkar has provided an effective pro-people leadership that others in the CPI(M) would do well to emulate. Sarkar is in fact almost a legend in the North East having established a reputation, that people from other states refer to, while singing his praises for good governance. However, West Bengal has constituted the backbone of the party and the leaders will have to sit in deep and honest introspection to arrive at a strategy that is able to lift the Left out of the current doldrums. Clearly short fix solutions for the CPI(M) are not acceptable, and given the TMC generated violence, and a rising BJP in the state, it is not going to be an easy run.

In fact, quite the contrary. More so as the setback this time through the alliance with the Congress has been sufficient to make the Left a non- player in the 2019 general elections in West Bengal. Its recovery from this setback, generated by the alliance with the Congress, is now under a big question mark.

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