Siliguri, Sept. 17: Wary of the growing bloodshed following police crackdown on the Maoists in neighbouring Nepal, the Naxalites in north Bengal, plan to put up a “brave and united face” to fight against “state terror”.

The “unity show” is likely to bind the various ultra-Left splinter groups, who have often been at loggerheads with each other in recent times.

Local Naxalite leaders admitted that the development in Nepal is bound to have a “ripple effect” on their support bases in the region.

The Maoists are on the run, ever since the government in the Himalayan Kingdom imposed a ban on the rebels.

The situation, the Naxalite leaders claimed, was no better on this side of the border.

In a bid to pre-empt the “ensuing crackdown”, some ultra-Left groups plan to form a separate “forum”.

The exercise will be a marked departure from orthodox Marxism.

The formation of a “forum”, they felt, would help them put up a united fight against the “designs of the state government”.

“We are already coping with severe police harassment in south Bengal, especially in Midnapore, Purulia and Bankura. Presently, the security forces have adopted similar repressive tactics in certain remote hamlets of north Bengal,” a senior leader said.

“We are left with no alternative but to politically counter the offensives unleashed by the CPM-led ruling Left Front government,” he added.

The Naxalite factions have also condemned the use of indiscriminate force on the Maoists, with whom they claim to share an ideological affinity.