Jyoti Basu’s 23-year-long reign as chief minister of West Bengal may have created an unbeaten record in Indian politics but his example never helped the Left parties strike roots in Gujarat. The pragmatism of Gujarat’s entrepreneurial class and the deep influence of Gandhian ideology which encourages cooperation between the classes, did not give the Left parties an opportunity to spread their influence here.
DNA looks at the Left presence in Gujarat politics, particularly that of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and its future in the absence of their most charismatic leader.
The CPM became active in Gujarat before the Maha Gujarat movement of the 1960s, with the figure of Dinkar Mehta gaining some popularity. But the Independent Gujarat movement, led by Indulal Yagnik, continued to dominate the minds of the people.
The incumbent state president of CPM, Arun Mehta, says that Basu had very good equations with Yagnik and had backed the demand for an independent state of Gujarat before the Central government.
Between 1962 and 1965, the movement for land reforms, especially in Saurashtra, also had the CPM’s backing. “Nearly 2 lakh farmers and labourers benefited from the land reforms,” Mehta said. After that, however, the influence of the Left in the state declined and the Congress and the BJP came to dominate Gujarat politics.
“During his visit to Ahmedabad in 1971, Basu had visited the football ground in Kankaria,” Mehta said. “Later that year, he also visited Bhavnagar. The state CPM was constantly in consultation with Basu regarding issues that could be taken up here.”
Be that as it may, the political health of the state unit of the CPM is not particularly good. On Monday, the run-down state headquarters of the party at Raikhad crossroads was shut. If neighbours are to be believed, it was last seen open many days back.
