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WEST BENGAL's OPPORTUNITY by K March 9, ·1968 SWARAJYA 9 WEST BENGAL'S OPPORTUNITY By K. K. SINHA • SWARAJYA . WITH THE PROMULGATION of the rate from the Congress, though KAlKI BUilDINGS. KILPAUK. MADRAS·IO President's Rule in West Bengal co-operation with the latter is I not Rate of ~ubscription on . and a sickening chapter in the politics excluded. But this attempt has (rom Au.gust I. ,966 of this State has closed for the not yet crystallized. ·time being, to the great relief of The Congress Party has not re­ * Annual H.1f Yly. many citizens. .. mained united even during this INDIA Rs. 15.00 Rs. 7.SO The Congress failed in the elec­ critical period.. J\t first Smt. FOREIGN I\s. 37.00' Rs 18.50 tipns early last year mainly for Indira Gandhi reportedly inspired CEYLON Rs. 16.00 Rs. 8.00 three reasons: use of State power the Nanda visit to obtain the (In Ceylon Curroncy) for party and personal ends, com­ res.ignation of Sri Ajoy Mukherjee BlDgl. COPT I 30 p .. laas . placent and arrogant attitude of· from the. Chief Ministership simul­ Subscription Prepay"blli> congressmen, . and abuse of· the taneously wjth the forrrlation of party-machine by a clique, which an ad hoc committee to reorga­ .* antagonized many honest con­ nize the Congress in the State, Enrol your friends gressmen. eliminating Sri Atulya Ghosh. An as Subscriber's The United Front ministry influential section of the State started functioning with great. Congress was party to it. But public support and expectations, him. This is bound to accentuate the Congress President Kamaraj foil­ suppressed· conflict, the anti-Ghosh' but it was internally weakened ed the design. Since then Sri group being encouraged. by some by a conflict betweentw~ con­ Atulya Ghosh has gone on mono- . prominent Congress leaders. The tradictory policies. One was to polizing positions of influence in central Congress leadership. may also work for· constructive, practical the Congress and succeeded in get involved in the process if Smt. policies to improve the· difficult Indira Gandhi continues to' take eliminating his opponents. The -. , economic . and. , social situation. ,selection of Cbn~ress nominees to much interest under pressure from· The other Was to erode the pres­ Dr. P. C. Ghosh s Coalit;ion Cabi­ local congressmen. tige, authority· and morale of net without consulting the legis­ (e) Dr. P. C. Ghosh and Prof. the State itself, and simultaneously lative party, however, ended in Kabir may try to stabilize the group to build up a parallel authority· . failure. New cracks and cleavages round them on the slogan of 'demo­ of the revolutionary party of appeased, the emergence of Ashu. cratic alternative'. Some of the ex­ Communists and thus plunge the Ghosh being proof of the trend. congressmen and potential Congress rebels may be attracted to'this group. State into a crisis of instability. As a preparation for the forth­ o. • Sri Ajoy Mukherjee tried to run coming mid-term election, we It is likely that the image of the with· the hare and hunt with ·the may expect the· following broad United Front as a focal point hounds. Ultimately his fixation trends: . against the Congress· will be against Sri Atulya Ghosh led him (a) The Left Communists will try. maintained and polished' up by to bccome a fellow-traveller. to secure more seats for themselves launching agitations against l'vfost of the other non-commu­ and . consolidate their· relationspip specific policies of the. President's IJist left parties have undergone with the other Left groups on stricter regime. This will not only h,elp a tr:wm·atic . experience . during flOlitical terms than previously. At public mobilization but also act this period. They have .. had ~ the same time they will launch all as a cementil)g force between the real taste of. the 'united front kinds of agitations against the Centre. various elements within it. It will ' tactics of the Communists. Some (b) The Right Communists will be difficult for· any of the consti­ of their workers have been beaten try to fOlm their. anti-Congress tuent elements of the UF to pub­ '~democratic alliance", but their rela­ to death; the SSP and the PSP licly oppose this policy"although tions with the• Left CPI will remain }1;.l.ve been publicly damned as as uneasy as in the past, although it \vill be evident that it will mean agents of the Congress and the they will seek unity with them pub­ hitching one's wagon to the Com­ capitalists; members of some licly. munists once again. (Sri Ajoy other parties were bought over (c) The other small parties will Mukherjee is not likely to enjoy and financed eithei' to domi­ experience extreme uneasiness, each the pull he had as a. most nate over them or to split their of them being splitwithin-one sec­ influential leader after the last ranks. Yet these small parties tion trying to go with. the Left CPI election.) \ and the other with the Right· CPI, are so neurotically anti-Congress Thus the situation is likely to that they. shiver to think of a while both the Communist· parties will offer funds to them for election remain more or less where it was democratic alliance against the even after the mid-term elections, work on· condition of alliance. • Communists. unless the Congress gets an abso­ Prof. Humayun Kabir has (d) The Congress will find itself divided. Sri Atulya Ghosh has lute majority, which does not lately been attempting tG rally already indicated that those who seem likely, unless the Congress the unattached and ex-Congress were critical of him last year are .not cim evolve a leadership on which elements and forma policy with likely to get 'tickets' unless of course . all sections of congressmen can. anti-communist but sepa- otltlook they . off(Jr complet(J slJrrender to rely for fainw~~ of tre<itII!ent? of .
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