Will he go this time? Or will he once again give the party politburo meet (slated to be held on October 17 and 18 in Delhi) a miss? The question is troubling the minds of the CPI(M) leadership in Bengal. Even after some prodding by party bigwigs of the state and the central committees, former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has still not clarified whether he will attend or not the crucial apex-body meet of the party which is likely to draft the contours of the political documents in sync with the new political situation for the party Congress to be held in 2012 in Kerala.
Insiders revealed, having been left red-faced by Mr Bhattacharjee’s persistent absence at CPI(M)’s highest body meets after Lok Sabha poll debacle in 2009, party general secretary Prakash Karat has called up state party secretary Biman Bose requesting him to persuade the former chief minister to attend. Mr Karat has reportedly said that this time his presence and views could be vital as the party is to re-define its ideological stand.
Mr Karat said that the party felt that a “comprehensive discussion” to update its ideology was the need of hour and therefore at this juncture, Mr Bhattacharjee’s participation in the deliberations is important. When asked about the “resentment” of the central leadership over Mr Bhattacharjee’s “abse-nce” from the politburo and central committee meets, a central committee member Mohammed Salim said: “You should not try to read between the lines. He is simply not keeping well. This apart, on the question of party’s ideological document, Buddhada has already sent his suggestions in writing to Sitaram Yechury who has been assigned the job of drafting the outlines of the document.”