<p>A large section believes that only a new leadership can rebuild the party and the issue may crystallise in the next Central Committee meeting in Hyderabad from June 10 to 12, say sources.<br /><br />Monday’s Politburo meeting had postponed any lengthy discussion on election debacle on the grounds that the most important issue before the party was the post-poll violence in West Bengal. Sources say the process of leadership change will commence once the review of poll results is over.<br /><br />Those who crave for a change cite more than one reason for it. According to them, the current leadership cannot instill confidence in party workers, nor can it mobilise people against the new government. “It is important to have some new faces whom people and workers can trust,” says a party leader.<br /><br />However, the power struggle seems to be complex considering the nature of the groups controlling the party. Those at the helm in West Bengal have always been ignoring General Secretary Prakash Karat’s command. This group—comprising chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, party secretary Biman Bose, Industries Minister Nirupam Sen and others—is blamed for mishandling the issue of land acquisition in Singur and Nandigram, which resulted in the alienation of rural masses.<br /><br />On the other side, Karat himself became a party to factional politics as he was seen allying with the anti-VS Achuthanandan group in Kerala. Now, Achuthanandan has become a cult figure within and outside the CPM after emerging as the party’s saviour in the polls. So Karat has to face the wrath of Kerala cadres.<br /><br />In the given situation, both the central and state leaderships are under pressure. “The new situation may lead to the emergence of a new leadership,” says a party leader.</p>
<p>A large section believes that only a new leadership can rebuild the party and the issue may crystallise in the next Central Committee meeting in Hyderabad from June 10 to 12, say sources.<br /><br />Monday’s Politburo meeting had postponed any lengthy discussion on election debacle on the grounds that the most important issue before the party was the post-poll violence in West Bengal. Sources say the process of leadership change will commence once the review of poll results is over.<br /><br />Those who crave for a change cite more than one reason for it. According to them, the current leadership cannot instill confidence in party workers, nor can it mobilise people against the new government. “It is important to have some new faces whom people and workers can trust,” says a party leader.<br /><br />However, the power struggle seems to be complex considering the nature of the groups controlling the party. Those at the helm in West Bengal have always been ignoring General Secretary Prakash Karat’s command. This group—comprising chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, party secretary Biman Bose, Industries Minister Nirupam Sen and others—is blamed for mishandling the issue of land acquisition in Singur and Nandigram, which resulted in the alienation of rural masses.<br /><br />On the other side, Karat himself became a party to factional politics as he was seen allying with the anti-VS Achuthanandan group in Kerala. Now, Achuthanandan has become a cult figure within and outside the CPM after emerging as the party’s saviour in the polls. So Karat has to face the wrath of Kerala cadres.<br /><br />In the given situation, both the central and state leaderships are under pressure. “The new situation may lead to the emergence of a new leadership,” says a party leader.</p>
