Who will make it to the politburo of the CPI(M)? Will it be Surya Kanta Mishra, Gautam Deb or Shymal Chakraborty? The buzz in the party circle is that the “efficient performance of Dr Mishra as the leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly” has made him the frontrunner for the berth in the party’s apex body, pipping former state housing minister and promising party leader Gautam Deb and senior trade unionist Shymal Chakraborty. This apart, Dr Mishra’s good rapport with party general secretary Prakash Karat has also put him ahead in the race.
After the demise of Jyoti Basu and M.K. Pandhe, two berths in the politburo are lying vacant. This apart, after the poll debacles, West Bengal ex-CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has expressed his reluctance to “occupy” the top party post and is even skipping the politburo meets. “Which is why the next politburo meet will be held in Kolkata from January 17 to 20 to suit Buddha da,” a party leader said.
The CPI(M)’s Bengal unit has currently three more epresentatives — Biman Bose, Mohammed Amin and Nirupam Sen — in the politburo besides Mr Bhattacharjee. However, after the back-to-back poll debacles in West Bengal, there has been a clamouring in the party circles that there should be some changes in party echelons and an overhauling of the party structure, sources revealed. “After the drubbing in the elections, the party is making all efforts not only to rejuvenate its ranks but also to resurrect the party to remain relevant in the present political scenario,” a CPI(M) central committee member said.
He added that during the crisis hour, Dr Mishra was made the Leader of the Opposition and he has been keeping up with the expectations to a good extent. “Initially a media-shy person and an introvert, he has, however, now transformed himself into an articulate and in-depth party leader within and outside the House. Since he has been playing an active role in the various party functions and movements, he is being considered for the politburo,” a state secretariat member Rabin Deb said. On being contacted for his reaction, Dr Mishra, however, refused to comment.