Friday, April 10, 2009

Bihar witnesses CPI (ML) led Left Front


Bowing to the glaring political reality CPI-ML, the largest Communist party in Bihar has joined hands with CPI, CPI-M to put up candidates in 33 of the state's 40 Lok Sabha seats in an attempt to make its presence from the state in the 15th Lok Sabha. CPI (M-L) was an underground organisation until 1992 because it had taken the path of armed struggle which it gave up.

CPI-ML which has a significant organisational capacity in Bihar has put up the maximum 20 candidates. CPI has put up candidates for 8 seats the and CPI-M has put up candidates for 5 seats.

Father of Rahul Raj who was killed in a fake encounter in Mumbai, Kundan Singh has accused NDA and UPA leaders of failing to pursue the issue of Bihari identity and his son. He accused Nitish Kumar, Lalu and Ram Vilas Paswan of killing the emerging student movement in Bihar when students agitated over the issue of killing of Bihari youths: Rahul Raj (Patna), Pawan (Nalanda), Harendra Manjhi (Gopalganj) and Santu (Munger). He said that the JDU government did not help him in the inquiry of false encounter case and he was supported only by the CPI-ML. He has appealed to the people of Bihar to support the Left Front candidates. An appeal has also been issued to defeat Bollywood non-resident Bihari actors who remained silent while Bihari youths were being killed by Raj Thackrey's goons in Maharastra and were given clean chit by the Maharashtra Government.

“There are differences and they will be there. We are not merging with the CPI(M). Now the plan is to hold joint actions with the CPI(M) and CPI in Bihar. It is a positive development as the CPI(M) responded to our appeal this time around,” said, Kavita Krishnan, spokesperson, CPI(ML).

Indeed "Caste and community combinations employed by various political formations have been the most crucial factor in all elections in Bihar in the past 20 years" with the exception of CPI (ML).

CPI-ML has a support base in at least 11 of the state's 38 districts, including Bhojpur, Buxar, Jahanabad, Sasaram, Gaya, Siwan, Gopalganj, Maharajganj and Jamui. There is fair chance that the CPI and the CPI(ML) can capitalise the division of votes to their advantage in constituencies such as Begusarai.

CPIML's Arun Singh who is a sitting MLA from Karakat is contesting from Ara in Bhojpur district. Ara has more than 15 lakh voters. He is cotesting against rivals like Rama Singh of LJP, Meena Singh of JDU, Haridwar Prasad Singh Kushwaha of Congress and Rita Singh of BSP. Some believe that only Arun Singh and Rama Singh are serious candidates while other feel the contest is between Arun Singh and Meena Singh. The fact remains Meena Singh (from late Tapeshwar Singh's family) is a sitting MP from Bikramganj which she won because of a sympathy factor due to her husband Ajit Singh's accidental death. Rama Singh is a sitting legislator from Mahnar that makes him also an outsider so is LJP in Ara.

In the Bihar Vidhan Sabha election of 2005, Arun Singh won as a CPI(ML)(L)candidate from Karakat (in Rohtas region) by getting 35954 votes as against his rival RJD candidate Tulsi Singh who got 29274. He won by a margin of 6680 votes. He is a third time MLA.

In February, 2008, this CPI-ML MLA was in news for his acts in the Bihar Vidhan Sabha during Governor R S Gavai's address to the joint sitting of the two houses of Bihar legislatures. Arun Singh read out a parallel speech denouncing Bihar's NDA government for its failure on all fronts.

In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, the CPI (ML)candidate was the first runner up.

Earlier, Rameshwar Prasad was elected to the Lok Sabha from Ara in 1989 as a front candidate for the underground organisation.

In the 2005 Vidhan Sabha election, the CPI (ML)'s got seven MLAs although two of its MLAs Amarnath Yadav and Satyedeo Ram who are MLAs from Siwan district are in jail.

Sudama Prasad, another CPIML leader is contesting from Buxar.

CPI(ML)'s candidate in Siwan Amar Yadav is emerging as a strong contender against RJD leader Mohammed Shahabuddin's 36-year-old wife Heena Sahab. Heena is a resident of Pratappur which comes under Hussainganj Police Station. She is a graduate from Vidya Bhavan Mahila College.

(Lalu Prasad along with Shahabuddin's wife and party candidate from Siwan, Heena Sahab)

Shahabuddin was denied ticket because he accused of several criminal offences and is now in jail as a convict. Patna High Court dismissed his plea to suspend his conviction in a criminal case so that he could contest the Lok Sabha elections. Shahabuddin was convicted on May 5, 2007, for kidnapping and trying to kill a CPI (ML) activist, Chhote Lal, in 1999. The court August 2007 sentenced him to 10 years in jail. Under the electoral laws, anyone convicted of a criminal offence and sentenced to jail for more than two years is barred from contesting elections. Shahabuddin has also been convicted in 2006 for carrying out an armed raid on the CPI-ML office in 1998 and sentenced to a two-year jail term. JD(U) nominee Brishen Patel in Siwan is also a strong candidate because he has represented this constituency prior to Shahabuddin. Lalu Prasad is contesting from adjoining Saran constituency.

CPI(ML)says it is seeking votes for a fighting Left opposition within Parliament and to to rebuild and revitalise the Left movement in the country and forge a fighting unity of Left and democratic forces.

The Left Front had 62 MPs in the 14th Lok Sabha but the way India's foreign policy became dependent on US and away from the tradition of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) shows that while Left Front's presence was felt, it could not save India from strategic embrace of US and consequently of Israel to the detriment of relations with Iran and other NAM countries.

In the last three general elections the Congress Party has been between 140 to 145 seats in the Lok Sabha of 543. In the elections of 1996, the Bharatiya Janata Party won 161 seats, in 1998 it increased its tally to 178 seats and in 2004 it won only 138 seats in a Lok Sabha of 543.

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