JOIN USWill the CPM stand united or will the split in its most powerful body continue till its leaders meet for their biennial conclave?
A question has been looming large on the CPM since two separate drafts were prepared on the party's political and tactical line and circulated in the Central Committee meeting in October 2017 - will the CPM be able to successfully bury its internal hatchet and decide on a common line before the 2019 general elections or will the differences persist till its 22nd Party Congress scheduled at Hyderabad in April?
To find a solution to this crisis, the CPM Central Committee began its crucial deliberations in the Kolkata on Friday.
One of the two lobbies in the party sides with general secretary Sitaram Yechury. This side follows an approach that favours forming a broader political platform of Opposition parties along with the Congress to oust the BJP in the next Lok Sabha polls.
The other side supports former general secretary and Polit Bureau member Prakash Karat, who is strongly opposed to any truck with the Congress.
The two drafts have already been in circulation for some time now and the Central Committee wants to avoid any repetition of its last meeting and formulate only one resolution before heading for the Party Congress and finalise its political line.
The Bengal lobby in the Central Committee has been favouring Yechury's approach.
The party has been virtually decimated in the state by the TMC and the BJP is steadily cementing its position as the principal Opposition party.
The Kerala lobby, presently the most powerful in the central committee, shares Karat's views, which says both the Congress and BJP have similar views on the economic front and both are pursuing neo-liberal policies.
The only silver line among Yechury-supporters is that Tripura Chief Minister and party's Polit Bureau member Manik Sarkar has recently softened his anti-Congress stand after facing serious contest from the BJP in his own state. Tripura goes to polls in February.