Pratikur Rahaman, a prominent youth face of the CPI(M) and West Bengal state politburo member, has reportedly expressed his wish to quit the party. This development comes just ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, due this year.
On Sunday, February 15, Rahaman sent a letter to CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim expressing his desire to quit the membership of the party. According to the letter, Rahaman expressed his inability to adjust to various activities of the party and the policies that the organisation is adopting in recent times.
The former state secretary of SFI West Bengal, Pratikur Rahaman had contested the Lok Sabha elections from the Diamond Harbour constituency in South 24 Parganas on a CPI(M) ticket, and received a 5.68 per cent vote share opposite Trinamool Congress's Abhishek Banerjee, and BJP's Abhijit Das. Abhishek Banerjee had won the elections by a massive margin of 7.10 lakh votes.
Following Pratikur's resignation, the Trinamool Congress and BJP have reacted strongly against the CPI(M) leadership and called out the current status of the party.
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'Young people can't stay in CPI(M)'
Trinamool Congress spokesperson Sudip Raha said, "The CPI(M) doesn't have any ideology now. They ally with anyone and everyone for electoral gains. Young people and students can't stay in that party."
Raha asserted that this list will only get longer and hinted that Pratikur Rahaman's resignation is the first one in a supposed slew of resignations from the CPI(M).
The Trinamool leader stated that Mamata Banerjee is the face of neo-socialism across India. "Trinamool Congress is the sole flag-bearer of socialism in India, and all believers of socialism will ultimately become a part of Trinamool."
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'CPI(M) riddled with factions'
Bengal BJP spokesperson Ankan Dutta highlighted the factions within the CPI(M) as a reason behind Rahaman's resignation from the party. "There are two major factions within the CPI(M). Md. Salim is now meddling with parties like the ISF or JUP. It is impossible to work in the CPI(M) under Md. Salim."
The rift within Bengal CPI(M) over the Humayun Kabir issue has widened further after Pratikur put up a Facebook post raising ideological concerns. In his post, Pratikur wrote, "It's not possible to work with a Communist Party without idealism."
Speaking to the media on Monday, he said, "I don't have any personal grudge against anybody. I have informed my decision to the party leadership, and no one from the party has contacted me so far. It's our party's internal matter, and I won't make further comment," The New Indian Express reported.
