The Left is desperate to re-establish ties with the Congress-led UPA, a move that would not just help the Left but also put the Trinamool, a UPA ally, on the defensive.
Jyoti Basu’s death has come at a time when the Left Front is, on one hand, trying hard to re-establish friendship with the Congress, and on the other, trying to stave off a defeat in next year’s assembly elections. Basu was a master at forging ties with other parties, often to the great benefit of the CPI(M) and the Left, and his absence could not have come at a worse time.
The Left is desperate to re-establish ties with the Congress-led UPA, a move that would not just help the Left but also put the Trinamool, a UPA ally, on the defensive.
For Left Front chairman Biman Bose, Basu’s greatest asset was his universal appeal by all parties. “His acceptability was universal and his suggestions were of the highest importance to everyone. In that way, his absence will be one of the greatest losses for the party,” Bose said.
West Bengal Pradesh Congress working president Pradip Bhattacharjee said that the Congress-Left alliance in 2004 happened because of Basu, “His understanding of coalition politics was extraordinary. His death is a great loss for CPI(M) and for coalition politics.”
Yet, while the Left may rue Basu’s absence, it might benefit from the sympathy that his death has generated. Mamata Banerjee is aware of this groundswell of emotional support. There is no doubt she will have to be careful not to attack Basu or his 23 years in power.
“Any political attack on Basu or his regime may prove counter-productive now. Instead of making allegations of non-development during the 32 years of Left rule, Mamata will have to focus only on events of post-Basu regime,” a political analyst said.
Trinamool leaders remain confident of their prospects. “The sympathy wave does not work in case of the CPI(M). Had it been so, the party would not have lost the by-election in Belgachia (east) after Subhash Chakrabarty’s death,” said a Trinamool leader.
In fact, this Trinamool leader believes that sympathy for Basu would actually harm the Left. “His party stopped him from becoming the country’s prime minister in 1996. Why would the people vote for them?”
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