Mixed signals

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) in West Bengal is tying itself up in knots about a possible alliance with the Congress, if one goes by the sound bites coming out of the party camp in recent days. Last Friday, senior CPI(M) leader Gautam Deb said that the Left Front did not have the strength to defeat the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) on its own in the next Assembly elections and hinted at an "understanding" with the Congress. Within days, the party's state secretary, Surjya Kanta Mishra, said the TMC was "slightly ahead" of the Left in terms of mass support - so there was nothing much to worry. Last heard, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury had dismissed all speculation, saying the party would follow the resolution adopted at the last party congress - that of not joining any front with the Congress party.