DISCUSSING STRATEGY: CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan with party State secretary K. Narayana and Member of Parliament Suravaram Sudhakara Reddy at a political training camp in Hyderabad on Sunday. — Photo: K. Ramesh Babu

HYDERABAD: Gearing up the party cadre for the upcoming panchayat elections, Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary A.B. Bardhan has called for establishing firm roots in all villages across the State to ensure that the party grows in strength and numbers.

Once the party is firmly rooted at the village level, it will help in preventing post-poll irregularities like pressures, allurements and kidnapping of candidates for securing the sarpanch and other seats. The Left presence in each and every village across West Bengal was one contributing factor for the parties' resounding victory in successive elections.

Inaugurating a three-day political training programme organised by the party's State council, Mr. Bardhan, however, regretted that some leaders were not inclined to contest in panchayat raj and local body polls. "They think they are too big to contest in the local body polls," he remarked.

Panchayat polls

Mr. Bardhan strongly opposed the party candidates contesting against each other in a single ward or panchayat. Though the elections would be fought without symbols, the party ought to know who was contesting and from where.

"Any such liberalism will finish our party," he said. Referring to the party's efforts to set up a broad-based organisation for tribals' cause, he appeared unhappy over the responses he got from the CPI State leaders on the dais to his queries.

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