A break away faction of the All India Forward Bloc (AIFB) has registered its recently floated party, Samajwadi Forward Bloc (SFB), with the Election Commission and has set up a State Committee in West Bengal.
Speaking to journalists on Friday the chairman of the SFB’s parliamentary board and a former Central Committee member of AIFB, S.P. Tiwari said they had no choice but to leave the AIFB as the party had “drifted away from the ideology of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose” by supporting the Left Front’s electoral understanding with the Congress in the 2016 Assembly polls. The SFB has registered with the EC last week.
“It was because of the Congress that the truth about Netaji’s death has not come out yet and by being a part of the Left Front’s alliance with the Congress, the AIFB leadership has showed that Netaji’s ideology is of little importance to them,” said Mr. Tiwari.
The breakaway faction parted ways with the AIFB last January.
The SFB leadership also claimed that three State Committee members of the AIFB along with hundreds of workers have joined the SFB. “Several senior district level leaders are also in touch with us and will join the SFB soon,” said Mr. Tiwari.
AIFB general secretary Debabrata Biswas brushed aside the allegations made by Mr. Tiwari. “He [Mr. Tiwari] was expelled for anti-party activities. We are least bothered about what he says.” As for the electoral understanding with the Congress, he said that “we supported it for the sake of larger Left unity. Making the Left Front unstable during the Assembly polls would not be a pragmatic decision.”