On the back foot as never before in the wake of mass defection from the party to the Trinamool Congress, the CPI(M) is planning a "mass movement" against the Bengal ruling outfit for its "wicked designs to gag Opposition voice in the State."
While the Marxists have lost at least three local bodies to the Trinamool after most of their elected members joined the Trinamool Congress the Congress has lost two. As a result of defection the left Front lost Jiaganj-Azimganj, Jangipur and Kultali municipalities to the Trinamool while the Congress lost Beldanga and Purulia to the State ruling outfit.
While Kultali is in South 24 Parganas and Purulia is a district in itself the other three municipalities are parts of Murshidabad district a Congress bastion and stronghold of PCC president Adhir Chowdhury.
The Trinamool has made inroads into the Murshidabad district board also with about 20 Congress and some left members switching over to the Trinamool Congress taking its numerical strength to 30, barely six short of the magic figure required to capture the 70-member board.
Most of the defections have been taking place under the auspices Suvendu Adhikary a powerful State Minister, former MP and Mamata Banerjee's Nandigram spearhead.
Reacting sharply to the unprecedented defections left Front chairman Biman Bose said "Bengal has been invaded by horse-traders. This dirty game of horse-trading which was peculiar to the cow belt has now been imported by the Trinamool Congress. Shame on those who are joining them by betraying the trust the voters reposed on them."
A dejected CPI(M) State secretary Surykanto Mishra said the CPI(M) will soon hit the streets against the "dirty game being played by the Trinamool Congress to make Bengal an Opposition-less State. There is not a single instance of such engineered defections in the left regime."
left legislature Party leader Sujan Chakrabarty said the "Trinamool is pouring its entire ill-gotten earnings from Sharada and other sources like syndicate raj in engineering defection in the opposition ranks.
Remember jointly the left and the Congress has got 2.15 crore votes as against Trinamool's 2.40 crore. People will not take this betrayal lying down. We will definitely launch a massive movement soon."
Congress' Adhir Chwodhury said talking about the modus operandi of the Trinamool Congress, "They are first blocking development in the opposition belts by stopping grants to their boards. If that does not work they are offering huge money to their representatives many of whom are then bought over. As a third alternative they are using the police to threaten the Opposition members with false cases. Already thousands of cases have been slapped against them. And finally there are Trinamool goons. But they cannot purchase the people.