After West Bengal chief minister Mamata’s Banerjee’s show of strength, it’s time for her arch rival, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI (M), to hold rally at the same iconic venue — Kolkata’s Brigade Parade Ground.

Participants at the rally, scheduled for February 3, will be limited to the Left, unlike the parties cutting across political ideologies assembled by Banerjee on Saturday

“It will be the rally of only the Left parties. Unlike Mamata Banerjee, we don’t need help from other parties. What did she achieve by organising that flop rally?” said CPIM politburo member Nilotpal Basu.

“She is on the back foot and now trying to project herself as the prime ministerial candidate. No one thinks that she can be the PM. We, on the other hand, will send the message that time has come to defeat the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) at the Centre and the Trinamool in the state. We will also state the alternative policies we stand for,” he added.

As many as 18 opposition parties, cutting across regional and ideological barriers, came together at the rally organised by Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress and resolved to oust the BJP from power in the upcoming general election.

The meeting was described by analysts as one of the biggest Opposition rallies in recent times; the organisers claimed that an estimated half-a-million people attended it. Political leaders from 14 states shared the stage, but there was no talk of a common PM candidate.

The Left is also keen for a prominent space in the Opposition camp, but wants to maintain a distance from its arch rival, Trinamool. The Left’s rally is expected to kick off its Lok Sabha campaign in West Bengal, a state where it is scrambling to remain relevant since the Trinamool ended its 34-year reign in 2011 .

The CPI(M) and other Left parties’ performance in the Lok Saha polls depends a lot on how it fares in the eastern state. The party is keeping the doors open for some seat adjustments with the Congress at the state level. A senior leader added that as the seat sharing is yet to be finalised, the CPI (M) has not yet taken a call on its candidates’ list.

The CPI (M)’s best performance in the Lok Sabha polls was in 2004, when it won 44 seats on its own and the Left Front, of which it was a part, won 61.

In 2014, the CPI(M) won just 9 seats and the Left Front, 11.

Former parliamentary affairs secretary Afzal Amanullah maintained that “The biggest challenge before the country’s Left forces is to regain its importance and electoral strength. In Lok Sabha, the numbers matter the most. But in West Bengal they face the formidable force of Trinamool Congress.”

First Published: Jan 24, 2019 07:20 IST