It was yet another setback for India's Left with yesterday's verdict in Tripura. The left which had been ruling Tripura uninterruptedly for the last 25 years was decimated to a mere 16 seats by the saffron party. Being a left supporter, it was heartbreaking for me to digest this verdict. In the morning, when I saw Left leading (though with meagre seats) I was somewhat satisfied thinking that party may retain the power, but when as time went by the seat share started falling rapidly and I was awestruck. I kept on looking at the screen hoping that some miracle might happen and hoped for any final twist in the tale. Some may say that, BJP ate Congress's vote share but it is not as simple as that. Yes, it is a factor that the BJP ate into the Congress's vote share, but if we take into consideration the scale of campaigning which the BJP did, a handsome part of left's vote share has gone into BJP's kitty also. Simply, going with the first factor, can be seen as an utter ignorance of the true situation.
Yesterday's verdict was a repetition of what was done by the Trinamool in West Bengal in 2011. Yet, there is a lack of introspection inside the left. Being a leftist, I feel deeply sad at the rapid dwindling of supporters in the country. A party which was once regarded as the party for the masses, is now reduced to mere conferences, meeting halls and plenums. Lack of interaction with the common man has been the main factor behind the fall. A gap has been created between the thinkers of the party and the grass root level workers which will ever widen if we will not look into the mistakes. In the era, where the fascist forces are on the rise, instead of joining hands with the like minded secular parties, the party has decided to go alone in the national level. Votes can only be bagged by constant work at the grass root levels for a considerable period of time. Unless and until, this disconnect between the party and the common man is removed, the party will keep on facing such setbacks and will become vulnerable of getting stripped off the national party status.
The present situation is clearly depicted in a malayalam movie "Sandesham" where the party members are introspecting on the loss which they suffered in an election. In the scene, when asked about an opinion regarding the loss, one member stood and spoke the truth of this same disconnect between the party and the mass. Even though, the whole scene was shot in a humorous manner, it was/is the hard truth behind the present status. Left was once known for its mass movements be it, for the labour class or for the downtrodden. It created a viable alternative in the Indian politics for the people. But now it has been reduced to only opinions which its leaders give on various issues. Majority of people in the country do not have any idea about what does the left ideology stand for. They don't know, that it is only the left ideology which is utmost required for the present situation of our country. A time in which major part of the wealth is in the hands of a few billionaires, a time in which many fascist forces are gaining strength, a time in which industrialist absconders are absconding from the country without paying huge sums of loans and a time in which more than half of our country is still kept in the dark, it is during these times that left ideology will become the best alternative. But, time and again, if the same mistakes are committed by the left, the gap or the disconnect will continue to widen.
Yesterday's verdict was a repetition of what was done by the Trinamool in West Bengal in 2011. Yet, there is a lack of introspection inside the left. Being a leftist, I feel deeply sad at the rapid dwindling of supporters in the country. A party which was once regarded as the party for the masses, is now reduced to mere conferences, meeting halls and plenums. Lack of interaction with the common man has been the main factor behind the fall. A gap has been created between the thinkers of the party and the grass root level workers which will ever widen if we will not look into the mistakes. In the era, where the fascist forces are on the rise, instead of joining hands with the like minded secular parties, the party has decided to go alone in the national level. Votes can only be bagged by constant work at the grass root levels for a considerable period of time. Unless and until, this disconnect between the party and the common man is removed, the party will keep on facing such setbacks and will become vulnerable of getting stripped off the national party status.
The present situation is clearly depicted in a malayalam movie "Sandesham" where the party members are introspecting on the loss which they suffered in an election. In the scene, when asked about an opinion regarding the loss, one member stood and spoke the truth of this same disconnect between the party and the mass. Even though, the whole scene was shot in a humorous manner, it was/is the hard truth behind the present status. Left was once known for its mass movements be it, for the labour class or for the downtrodden. It created a viable alternative in the Indian politics for the people. But now it has been reduced to only opinions which its leaders give on various issues. Majority of people in the country do not have any idea about what does the left ideology stand for. They don't know, that it is only the left ideology which is utmost required for the present situation of our country. A time in which major part of the wealth is in the hands of a few billionaires, a time in which many fascist forces are gaining strength, a time in which industrialist absconders are absconding from the country without paying huge sums of loans and a time in which more than half of our country is still kept in the dark, it is during these times that left ideology will become the best alternative. But, time and again, if the same mistakes are committed by the left, the gap or the disconnect will continue to widen.
Good analysis Arun
ReplyDeleteI am so happy to see such mature comments from one of my students.
Thank you very much sir !!!
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