An internal assessment by the CPM about the outcome in the May-end polls to the 80-odd municipal bodies of the state has painted a bleak picture for the ruling Left Front. The CPM district committees have reported that it would be difficult for the party and the Left Front to regain its lost urban vote bank and the party would find it difficult to retain most of the 54 municipalities it holds.
Party sources said the reports have shocked top CPM leaders because they show that the party?s attempts to regain lost ground over the past year have not been of much help. The reports say a large chunk of committed Left voters have shifted to the Opposition, especially Mamata Banerjee?s Trinamool Congress, since the panchayat elections in May 2008.
This trend has been evident in all the subsequent elections. The reports attribute this switch to the ?misconduct and nepotism? of local CPM leaders, especially those elected to local bodies.
CPM spokesman Mohammad Salim declined to comment about the party?s prospects in the municipal elections, but said other senior leaders were of the opinion that the ?battle? would be tough. Forward Block spokesman Hafiz Alam Sairani said it was evident that committed voters of the Left Front have moved over to the Opposition. RSP central committee member Manoj Bhattacharya agreed that several civic bodies will go out of LF control. ?How many we will lose cannot be predicted now. But I can say that it will be a tough battle for us,? said Bhattacharya.
