Cooch Behar, May 20: The CPM and the Forward Bloc, the two Left Front partners, today chalked out strategies on how they should go about during the counting and declaration of results of the panchayat polls.

One of the most crucial issues discussed in the meeting held at the district CPM office here was the need to maintain peace while bringing out victory processions after results start pouring in from tomorrow.

“It has been decided that all victory processions that the CPM will bring out should be in consultation with its respective zonal committees. We shall also do the same,” Bloc district secretary Udayan Guha said after the meeting.

Sources in the CPM said the district unit was under pressure from Alimuddin Street (the party headquarters in Calcutta) especially after the poll-related clashes among supporters of the Front partners at Basanti and Domkal. “Orders have come from Calcutta that there should be no provocation from our cadres and supporters to incite violence. We have told our grassroots-level workers to be very vigilant once the counting of votes begins from tomorrow morning,” the sources added.

The district CPM was also playing it safe keeping in mind the February 5 incident in which five Bloc supporters were killed in a police firing.

Besides Guha, CPM district secretary Chandi Pal, former minister Dinesh Dakua, Rajya Sabha MP Tarini Roy and CPM district secretariat member Benubadal Chakrabarty attended the meeting.

According to political observers in the district, the CPM stance was taken after the party realised that it would not do well in the polls like it did last time. “After the February 5 incident and the September 27, 2005 firing on Greater Cooch Behar People’s Association protesters, the CPM vote bank has faced a definite erosion,” said an observer.

Chakrabarty, however, did not agree with the erosion theory. “We will lose in some seats in certain areas, but overall the CPM will fare well in Cooch Behar,” he said.

The CPM district secretary said the party was not worried about the results, but to ensure peace after the results were out.

“We will maintain tight security in all the counting centres,” said Cooch Behar district police chief Anil Kumar.