Left votes in Bengal may have gone to BJP: Yechury

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday admitted that the Left Front’s vote base in West Bengal has shifted towards the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections. He also said that shift of the Left Front’s vote base to BJP was a desperate attempt of Left supporters to counter alleged terror tactics of the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

Speaking to journalists after a state committee meeting, Yechury said that the Left Front’s vote base got divided between the BJP and TMC. He argued that for those who prioritised immediate relief from TMC’s terror tactics may have voted for BJP and those who wanted to safeguard the secular democratic organisations would have voted for TMC.

“Today for all those the priority is relief from the repression and terror Trinamool has unleashed those sections are likely to vote for BJP. And the sections today who want to safeguard and secular democratic organisations to defeat the BJP they would move towards the Trinamool,” said Yechury.

He argued that the electorate in West Bengal is being polarised between the BJP and TMC which is leaving little space and scope for other democratic forces.

“What is developing in Bengal is a polarisation between the BJP and the Trinamool...This is the lowest presence of the Left in the Indian Parliament,” said Yechury.

However, Yechury clarified that the shift towards BJP is only limited to Left Front supporters and no members of the Left parties voted for BJP.

“No party member would have voted (for BJP) but the Left vote support base who for eight years they have been victims of this intense terror and repression could have done so,” said Yechury. While the Left Font’s vote share in West Bengal has come down from 29.93% in 2014 Lok Sabha elections to 7.46% in 2019, BJP’s vote share has gone up from 17.02 % in 2014 to 40.25% in 2019.

CPI(M) sources told DH that according to reports presented by the district leadership in the state committee meeting, majority of the district leaders have accused the state leaders of failing to provide protection party workers against TMC’s alleged strong-arm tactics.

“ Reports from districts such as East and West Bardhaman, Howrah, Kolkata stated that large section of Left Front supporters and a section of workers may have voted for BJP to teach TMC a lesson,” a senior CPI(M) state committee leader said.