Within hours of announcing its candidates, Left Front activists in West Bengal have started election campaign in the state. In all constituencies, candidates have started meeting the voters.
CPI(M) West Bengal state committee has decided to conduct the entire campaign in an intensive mode. Main thrust will be meeting each and every family number of times. Small area meetings will be done in thousands throughout the state. Booklets on corruption, attack on women, attack on democracy, real face of Trinamool have been published. Left Front workers will go to the people with these booklets. Left Front will publish an appeal apart from the all India manifesto of CPI(M) and other left constituents. CPI(M) state secretary Biman Basu has called upon all leaders and activists to conduct the voters’ meetings ‘through dialogue.
CPI(M) state committee has already reviewed the preparation of the election struggle. Booth level committees, comprising Party sympathasiers, eminent personalities from different walks of life and youth, will be involved in door to door campaign and mobilizing people. Such committees have already been formed and they have started working.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharya had addressed two large gatherings in Howrah and Ranaghat. Accusing both Congress and BJP of pursuing "pro-rich policies", Bhattacharjee Saturday asserted only the Left parties had the right alternative policies."There is no difference between policies of Congress and BJP, their sole aim is making richer the rich and robbing the poor.
"They can dole out subsidies to big corporates but when comes to giving subsidies for public distribution system, they don't have the money," said Bhattacharjee. Attacking the centre over its policies especially fuel pricing and rising prices of commodities, Bhattacharjee urged people to drive away the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance and prevent the BJP from coming to power.
Bhattacharjee launched a scathing attack on the Trinamool Congress government for its failure to generate employment, saying that not a single new factory was set up since the Left Front was voted out of power. “What is the State government doing? They are busy in indulging in festivities and organising cultural events claiming to have completed 90 per cent of work. They are clueless about what the job of a State government is,” he said.
“After we (Left Front) were voted out of power, not even a single new factory has come up in the State. Whatever is there were set up by us during the last eight to 10 years of our tenure”, he said.
In contrast to ‘star-studded’ candidate list of the ruling TMC, Left Front chose grassroots level political workers as candidates in many seats. 26 new candidates along with 12 from SC-ST and 11 from Muslim minority are there in Left Front list. The list has received warm welcome not only from people but even in media. There are many young candidates, including Sk Ibrahim Ali from Tamluk who has just crossed 26. DYFI leader Tirthankar Roy in Srirampur , Rinku Naskar in Mathurapur, Sabiruddin Mollah in Uluberia are very young. Subhashini Ali’s presence in Barrackpore has already created an enthusiasm among the workers.