THE successive electoral victory of the Left Front in West Bengal is a milestone in the coalition politics in India. The 1990s witnessed emergence of several regional parties in Indian polity which not only squeezed the support base of the national parties but also forced them to enter into alliances with regional parties for electoral gains. Thus, began the era of coalition politics in India. The questions that were repeatedly asked after the failures of the first coalition experiment at the Center in from 1977 to 1980, then in 1989 to 1991 and 1996 to 1998 is whether the coalition government is a healthy political option to a single party winning a complete majority. Another suggestion, which was in fact even mooted by a former President of India, is the two-party system in a Presidential form of government. Considering the diversity in India, with each region’s own aspirations, that is not an option, which was rightly rejected by all political parties except those who have a vested interest in perpetuating class contradictions.

Under these circumstances the successive success of the Left Front in West Bengal and the successful coalition governments in Kerala is an important achievement. Years of united struggle laid the foundation of the Left Front in West Bengal. It is not some pre-poll or a post-poll arrangement which has become a hallmark of coalition politics in India. It is based on a common understanding which enables all the constituent parties led by the CPI(M) to wage relentless struggle in defense of the interest of the workers and common people. The continued successes of the Left Front government in implementing pro-people and progressive policies has not only drawn attention of the millions of the people across India but also became the target of unbridled attack from the mainstream media, bourgeois parties aided by the imperialism and feudalism. In spite all kinds of manipulations and maneuvering, the Left Front survived because of the foundations which was laid in the years of struggle which was on the common understanding of the Indian polity and ways and means of providing minimum relief under the constraints of the bourgeois political structure.

There were indeed differences of opinion in the past as it does now, but all such differences were resolved within the Front through discussions. But the recent differences on Nandigram, instead of being discussed within the Front, some of the constituent parties brazenly aired their differences in public. A constituent party visited Nandigram after 11 months of turmoil to accuse CPI(M) of mishandling the entire situation. Why did these parties go to Nandigram earlier when thousands of CPI(M) supporters were forcibly chased out of their homes by the BUPC goondas?

It is important for them to realise that weakening the CPI(M) is weakening the Left Front as well, of which they are a constituent. They are as much responsible in preserving and strengthening the unity of the Front as much as it is the responsibility of the CPI(M).   Veteran leader and former Chief Minister Jyoti Basu rightly pointed out during the CPI(M) District Conference of the North 24-Parganas District Committee. He remarked a stronger Left Front is required in the State as well at the National Level.

The Left, today, plays an important role in shaping the policies of the UPA Government at the Center. Whether it is on the economic policies or the foreign policies, the Left has always tried to act in the interest of the common man. Only a stronger Left Front can effectively force the UPA to implement the Common Minimum Programme and take policy decisions in the interest of the common man. Only a stronger Left Front can effectively fight the forces of communalism which has become vibrant after two electoral successes in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. Only a stronger Left Front can effectively challenge imperialism in its penchant to subserve India’s foreign policy according to its liking.

It is in the interest of the people of the State and country that Left Front partners realise the importance of strengthening the Left Front.

7th January 2008