The Left Front seemed headed for its first split since 1977, with the Forward Bloc (FB) announcing it would put up candidates against the CPI(M) in the 2008 panchayat polls. Speaking in Bolpur, in Birbhum district, party State Secretary Ashok Ghosh said the CPI(M)'s actions were no longer acceptable. |
Ghosh, the seniormost Left leader in the state after Jyoti Basu of the CPI(M), had been asked by all parties in the state to conduct peace talks after the disturbances in Nandigram from January this year. |
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He has had been repeatedly humiliated by CPI(M) leaders like State Secretary Biman Bose and Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who refused to come to these peace meetings. |
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In response to Ghosh's announcement, Biman Bose said he would ask Bhattacharjee to talk to the Forward Block to get it to change its stance. |
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Ghosh's announcement was welcomed by RSP leader Kshiti Goswami, who had earlier resigned from the state cabinet to protest the December violence in Nandigram but was forced by his party to return. |
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Goswami claimed other Left Front constituents would be encouraged by Ghosh's step to act and speak out against the misrule of Bhattacharjee and the CPI(M). The RSP is expected to proceed on the same lines. |
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Ghosh said the Forward Block would field candidates on its symbol on seats where it was strong, but would not tie up with the Trinamool Congress, the Congress or any other Left Front partner. An upset Ghosh said his party would fight from within the front against the policies of the Bhattacherjee government. |
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RSP State Secretary Debabrata Bandhopadhyay said under the prevailing circumstances, they will also have to fight independently. |
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Since 1977, the Left Front has always put up a single Left Front-nominated candidate on the basis of seat-sharing arrangements with parties like the FB, the RSP and the CPI. |
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Ghosh said the FB would organise a state-wide movement against the 'anti-people' policies of the state government as its industrial policy was only helping capitalists destroy agriculture. CPI(M) was ignoring all smaller partners, Ghosh added. Biman Bose said CPI(M) will hold bilateral talks with the FB. |
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