 |
|
(Top) Fist clenched, Bhattacharjee gestures at the crowd after his speech at the Brigade rally on Sunday; Mishra at the same event. Pictures by Amit Datta |
 |
Calcutta, Feb. 19: Since the Assembly election debacle, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had been sulking, visiting Alimuddin Street regularly but mostly shying away from the public eye, save occasional appearances at CPM rallies on Rani Rashmoni Avenue.
He uttered few words at the party office and stopped taking part in meetings held in places from where he would not have been able to return home on the same day. The official reason cited by the CPM was his chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
But the events that unfolded during the four-day CPM state conference culminating in the CPM rally at the Brigade Parade grounds today have apparently thrown up the picture of a “resurgent’’ Buddha, who is more aggressive in his approach towards Trinamul than earlier.
From dubbing a “mistake” his opposition to bandhs during his stint as chief minister to prevailing upon the party to take action against tainted leaders by dropping them from the state committee, Bhattacharjee appears to have come out of his shell, the opportunity apparently provided by the state conference and the Brigade rally.
Walking up the steps to the Brigade rostrum, he waved at the crowd and offered namaskar. The excitement was evident when he claimed that the turnout was the “biggest’’ in any CPM rally. “We have never held such a big rally before,’’ Bhattacharjee asserted.
Asked about the change in Bhattacharjee’s approach, a CPM state secretariat member said: “After our poll defeat, Buddhada used to sit in one corner of our party office and pore over complaint letters from comrades. He would hardly speak and he always looked tired. He didn’t seem to be much interested in politics any more. His public appearances were very few and far between.’’
“But in the past few days, he has been cheerful, interacting well with colleagues during the state conference and taking down notes on observations made by delegates. Our party events have possibly given him the impetus. That way, it can be said that we are seeing a resurgent Buddhada. We hope to see more of this new Buddhada in the days to come,’’ the leader added.
During the CPM’s district conferences, Bhattacharjee had addressed some open sessions but his speeches lacked verve, a party colleague said. “They sounded like routine speeches, as if he had come just because he had to perform his duties. At the party office, he would drink cups of coffee and read books and journals,’’ he added.
However, in the run-up to the state conference, Bhattacharjee got “deeply involved” in helping CPM state secretary Biman Bose prepare the draft political-organisational report and the report on the state of governance in Bengal now, a source said. He had consulted general secretary Prakash Karat too, a state committee leader said.
On another count too, the Brigade rally saw a “different” Bhattacharjee — who appears to have decided that he will toe the party line on industry and agriculture rather than speak in a different voice.
During last year’s Brigade rally, held in the run-up to the Assembly polls, Bhatacharjee had primarily talked about industry. Today, he asked his comrades to stand by farmers and ensure that the CPM gets back their support by fighting for their cause.
According to a CPM leader, Bhattacharjee has “realised’’ that his pro-industry rhetoric as chief minister had led to the “alienation of a big chunk of the poor peasantry from the party”, which eventually led to the Left government’s ouster from power.
“Buddhada’s re-look at the agriculture-industry debate is in keeping with our party’s decision of not focussing solely on industry as it had turned out to be counter-productive. During the conference, he heard delegates speaking about the need to take up the farmers’ cause. The party has changed, so has Buddhada,’’ a source said.
|
