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CPM banks on old strategy in E midnapore
CPI(M)’s strategy for East Midnapore district is likely to be an exact replica of Jadavpur, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s constituency. Sumanta Ray Chaudhuri reports.
CPI(M)’s strategy for East Midnapore district is likely to be an exact replica of Jadavpur, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s constituency.
The strategy is simple — as opposed to crowding near the polling booths. Comrades would fan out over the district and if necessary, knock on every door to ensure that dedicated voters reach polling stations in time to cast their votes.
On April 27, Khokon Ghosh Dastidar, CPI(M) leader from Jadavpur, adopted the same strategy. His followers spreading out across the constituency, tapped on every door to ensure all dedicated Left voters can exercise their franchise.
However, for Jadavpur, this exercise started only after 1pm. But in case of East Midnapore, the CPI(M) is seeking to execute their plans from the beginning of the polls.
The party comrades residing in other constituencies of this district, which are beyond reach of CPI(M) as per their own estimates, have been advised to caste their votes early and report to the party offices and take part in the voter tapping exercise.
However, sources from CPI(M)’s East Midnapore district committee told HT that this exercise to ensure casting by dedicated Left voters would be applicable in select constituencies where the party hopes to get their candidates elected from a district, which has turned into a Trinamool bastion since the panchayat polls of 2008.
Six of 16 constituencies in the district, namely Haldia (SC), Mahishadal, Patashpur, Moyna, Khejuri (SC) and Panskura West have been identified for this special exercise.
The Left’s focus on these six constituencies could be attributed to the prevailing infighting in the Trinamool ranks over “outsider” candidates. One of the principal campaign agendas of the CPI(M) across these seats is to train their focus on opposition nominees, who are outsiders in the constituency.
The infighting is reportedly more acute in Haldia (SC) and Mahishadal, where local Trinamool supporters are upset over “outsiders” given party tickets.
