Ritabrata Banerjee expelled: CPI(M) continues on its path of self-destruction

A very common war-cry during CPI(M) processions in Kolkata back in the day used to be Haate Haate Comrade - Gore tolo Barricade (comrades let us grow the resistance by coordinating with each other)

A sizeable crowd would go from lanes and thoroughfares led by a senior leader. One could fault their message, make fun of their utopian world-view, but one could never deny the enthusiasm of the young cadres.

Cut to 2017. Battered in elections after elections, the Left is struggling to get young, talented leaders to replenish its feeble bench strength. At a time when Indian politics is swept by the shrewd election manoeuvring of Amit Shah, with sections of media trying to predict another comeback for Rahul Gandhi, the institutional Left, led by CPI(M) is stuck in an abyss. 

The expulsion of Ritabrata Banerjee is another act of hara-kiri, in the long list of self-goals committed by the Left.

Ritabrata is a bright, young, erudite leader who is TV-friendly - in short just the kind of a guy you need to attract the younger generation and garner eyeballs in this day and age. Yet, he was brutally cut down to size by an ad-hoc committee for not adhering to party discipline. Allegations of living a lavish lifestyle and womanising were levelled against him.

Even for a moment if we assume, the allegations are true, how does a politician’s personal life affect his or her political agenda?

From all accounts, Ritabrata was making party's position poignantly in Rajya Sabha. That should’ve been the only point needed.  

The Left accuses the Right of moral policing, and then can't resist from indulging in the same high-handed behaviour. In the name of discipline, old Victorian morals are being imposed by leaders who have done very little to bolster the party's image or sagging morale of the cadres. CPI(M) politburo expelled Ritabrata after he crossed the Lakshman rekha after giving an explosive interview.

But what about the allegations he made? Of the party pandering to Muslim appeasement, of being run by cliques, of trying to undermine one-another. No explanation or rebuttal was offered.  

You would excuse them if this was a one-off. But it isn't. Young leaders like Prasenjit Bose, Jagmati Sangwan have left the party in recent times after falling out the leadership. Even when the Left was in power in Bengal, people like Saifuddin Chowdhury and Samir Putatundu left the party.

The reason for them leaving is myriad and not always directly the fault of the central leadership. But the common thread is that all of them were earnest people, keen to make a change. Yet there's no attempt to cajole them or persuade them to stay, to keep them in the fold. 

This dogmatic attitude has cost CPI(M) in other ways also. The party had a glorious opportunity to get Jyoti Basu as PM in 1996, but the Kerala lobby played spoilsport, because for them ideology is more important than actually ruling and trying to implement the ideologies one believes in.

It's ironic though that the party expelled veteran leader Somnath Chatterjee for doing his job as Lok Sabha speaker properly, going by the book and spirit of democracy. The narrow-sightedness was again evident when party general secretary and its most recognisable face Sitaram Yechury was denied an extension of term in Rajya Sabha.

The Left is in the ICU in Bengal, down from over 40% to less than 20% in less than a decade. It's grassroot level cadres are flocking to BJP and TMC.

The party leaders though are in a state of deep slumber to the reality, merely happy to pay lip service in united opposition rallies protesting 'growing fascism and communalism'.

The Left is dying, those roadsides padayatra may soon become history . After all, you can't raise a barricade of resistance by resisting the demands of time for change.