Left in the lurch

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There has been a tectonic shift in Indian politics. The official Left has been squeezed out. The Congress has transferred its weight a little to the Left to occupy the moderate Left-of-Centre position. At the far end, the extreme Left space has been taken over by the Maoists. As a result, the parties led by Prakash Karat and A B Bardhan have nowhere to go. There is a distinct possibility that in 2011, the Left may receive a severe drubbing both in West Bengal and Kerala. Its influence in Indian politics may plummet to an all-time low when even the Rajya Sabha is depleted of Left MPs. The Left has committed strategic blunders in West Bengal and Kerala. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee arrived with an industrial vision but went about implementing it like an unthinking bulldozer. It was political hara-kiri in an old-fashioned state like West Bengal to deprive people....