The CPI(M) has laid stress on the success of the party's candidates in the hustings as the Left's overall success, as it improves this time, will help strengthen the hands of the secular forces both inside and outside Parliament.

The State Committee congratulated the Left Front Government of Tripura for its landslide victory in the recent panchayat polls there. In West Bengal, the CPI(M) will observe the birth anniversary of Muzaffar Ahmad, on August 4 and Hiroshima Day on August 6. A human chain will be organized on August 15 to mark the day as one for upholding the unity and sovereignty of the country.

A unique feature of the poll campaign will be remembering the martyrs of the historic food movement forty years ago on August 31. The state will voice its protest against war and imperialism on September 1 and a week, beginning he same day, has been earmarked for propagating the idea of literacy among all sections of the people. All these programmes will be part of the overall campaign of the Left Front for the forthcoming election.

Addressing the State Committee meeting Jyoti Basu said that in the current critical political situation the Left was required to shoulder a higher responsibility to help install a secular government at the Centre after the poll. He said that in the 1996 and 1998 Lok Sabha elections, the CPI(M) had called for installing a Third Alternative to the Congress and the BJP at the Centre, defeating both these parties. In 1996, a United Front Government assumed office at the Centre too, but the treachery of the Congress led to the fall of this government. The CPI(M) fought the 1998 Lok Sabha poll as a constituent of the Third Alternative but after the poll, because of the opportunistic stands of some of the constituents of the Third Alternative the BJP came to power --- an event which has proved harmful for the country's integrity and sovereignty. The government led by the BJP went out of power because of persistent feud among the constituents of the BJP-led combine. The DMK, a constituent of the earlier United Front government joined hands with the BJP and the Samajvadi Party led by Mulayam Singh also changed stance defeating the prospects of the third front coming to power again at the Centre.

Basu said that the Janata Dal had also split and that the third Front was virtually non-existent now, although the left or the CPI(M) was not responsible for the development.

Basu said that the Congress too had split with the Sharad Pawer faction forming a new party. In the present political scenario, it was not possible for any political party or combine to attain majority in the election. So the Left's target was to help set up a secular government at the Centre. As the political scenario in each state was different from others, the CPI(M) would have to assess its own strength individually. In order to defeat the BJP and the combine it leads, the CPI(M) would support a secular party's candidate if the CPI(M) is weak in that particular state. Of course, the winnability of the candidate to be supported by the CPI(M) will have to be taken into consideration first. The BJP was tuning India's foreign policy to suit the western imperialist countries. The way the BJP was shunning the policy of non-alignment would spell danger for the country in future. Hence it was imperative that the Left put all its strength in the election to ensure installation of a secular government at the Centre. Speaking at the State committee meeting, Biman Basu, Politburo Member, stressed the need for small group meetings instead of big mass meetings as part of the party's election campaign. Door to door campaign and house to house collection of election fund was more important, Biman Basu said.

Releasing the list of the Left Front candidates for the Lok Sabha poll, the Left Front Chairman, Sailen Dasgupta said since the next election would be a mid-term one, no major changes had been made in the list thus retaining most of the candidates who had contested the last election in 1998. The Left Front had in the last election won 33 of the total 42 seats in West Bengal. The Trinamul Congress got 7 and the Congress and the BJP one seat each.

Left Front candidates have been changed in nine Lok Sabha constituencies this time. The CPI(M) has changed candidates in eight constituencies and the Forward Bloc in one seat. In two seats which the CPI(M) had won in the last election, candidates have been changed. The constituencies are Darjeeling and Krishnagar. In six other constituencies Jadavpur, Calcutta North East, Calcutta South, Calcutta North-West, Malda and Dumdum -- where the CPI(M) lost in the last election party's candidates have been changed this time around. The Forward Bloc has changed its candidate in Barasat which the party lost in the last election. Though the CPI(M) won the Darjeeling and Krishnanagar seats in the 1998 elections, the party has to field new candidates on grounds of health of the two former MPs.

The West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee finds itself in an unenviable position with one of its two hopefuls for the Alipurduar constituency, Bulu Pradhan, switching his loyalty to the BJP at the last moment.

When the working president of the Congress(I) P.R. Dasmunshi, was releasing the list of the party's candidates for the Lok Sabha poll on Friday evening, Bulu Pradhan simultaneously announced his joining the BJP sitting in the BJP office. The list the PCC(I) prepared has been forwarded to Delhi for scrutiny by the high command. The WBPCC(I) has failed to recommend any names for eight constituencies. The list contains more than one name for five constituencies. The WBPCC(I) president, A.B.A. Ghani Khan Choudhury will contest again from his Malda constituency and the Dasmunsi has been fielded for the Raiganj Constituency which he contested in the previous Lok Sabha election in 1998 but lost.