Calcutta, March 13: Leader of the Opposition and politburo member Surjya Kanta Mishra was today elected the Bengal CPM secretary, replacing Biman Bose at a time of fresh political and electoral challenges for the party and fast depletion of the organisation.

In the early fifties, Jyoti Basu had simultaneously held two positions - leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and state secretary of the undivided CPI. Now that Mishra has been given the charge of the party in Bengal, he becomes the first CPM secretary to step into Basu's shoes. Mishra is an elected representative, too.

Asked whether he will continue to hold multiple posts, Mishra, 66, said: "I am the leader of the Left Front legislature party. So, it's not the CPM but the Left Front that will decide on this."

At the end of the five-day CPM state conference today, Mishra was the unanimous choice for the post. He had the backing of former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

"From today, our party will have a new state committee and Surjya Kanta Mishra is the new state secretary. There was no second name for the secretary's post. It took minutes to finalise his name and the party approved it," politburo member Sitaram Yechury said this afternoon, flanked by Mishra and Bose.

Mishra is known for his stoicism unlike his predecessor Bose, who remains the Left Front chairman. The new state secretary is measured in his words and not known for emotional outpourings. He was stoical even after his coronation.

"Today is not a day to rejoice. My party has given me an immense responsibility. Difficult times are prevailing in Bengal. We will have to put in all our might to fight the Trinamul Congress and the BJP," he said.

Mishra, who started off as a leader from West Midnapore, became the zilla parishad sabhadhipati in the mid-eighties and later the health, land reforms and panchayat minister in the Bhattacharjee government.

Although he rose up the ranks steadily, many in the CPM found his ministerial performance average and he was often criticised in the party.

Now that he is at the party's helm, Mishra faces the onerous task of rebuilding the organisation. Under the watchful eyes of the CPM leadership, he will have to steer the party in the elections to 93 municipal bodies, including the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, next month and face the bigger challenge of arresting any further decline in the party's fortunes in next year's Assembly polls.

It remains to be seen how the cadres react to Mishra as he will have to lift the sagging morale of his comrades and rejuvenate inactive workers.

Moreover, this is the first time a CPM state secretary in Bengal is faced with the embarrassment of having his wife's name dragged into a funds defalcation case. Mishra's wife Usha has been accused of misappropriation of funds her NGO received from the government for an AIDS-awareness project.

Mishra today tried to downplay the development. "False cases have been filed against thousands of comrades. So, this case is just a minor one," he said.

But a CPM leader said the case against Usha was "damaging" Mishra's reputation. "Comrades may not believe that she has done any wrong but what about the people? Many of them will form a negative opinion on Surjyada," he said.

Earlier, police had filed an FIR against Mishra's daughter Roshanara on the charge of instigating some students of Rajabazar Science College to protest against Trinamul.

Within the well-structured party, Mishra, known to be an introvert, will have to do a balancing act while dealing with senior leaders with tact and experience such as Bose, Gautam Deb, Shyamal Chakraborty, Madan Ghosh, Dipak Sarkar and Nripen Chowdhury.

"It is to be seen whether his voice gets drowned in the company of such seniors," said a CPM insider.

The road that lies ahead of Mishra bristles with thorns as the CPM continues to bleed, organisationally and electorally. Cadres in the villages are deserting the party in hordes and joining the BJP to get protection from alleged Trinamul attacks. Electorally, the BJP's vote bank has swelled fast at the expense of the CPM, as evident from recent polls.

"Surjyada has an uphill task. Our party is in deep crisis. He has to restore the credibility of the party and re-establish the organisation's social connect. Moreover, he has to nullify the threat from the BJP," a CPM leader said.