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CPI(M) focus on Rajasthan; Buddhadeb to address Sikar meet

Special Correspondent

Leadership's decision to send Bengal Chief Minister is influenced by the inroads the party has seemingly made in the State

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee

JAIPUR: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is scheduled to address a public meeting at Sikar in Rajasthan on August 31 and the State leadership of the party thinks that this gesture is a "token" of appreciation for the "good work" the State unit has been doing.

The last time a West Bengal Chief Minister visited Sikar -- considered a CPI (M) stronghold -- was in 1974 when Jyoti Basu addressed a rally in the district town, but then he was not Chief Minister yet.

"It is a rare honour for us," CPI (M) State Secretary Vasudev told The Hindu . Mr. Bhattacharjee had been scheduled to address two rallies forming part of the CPI (M) national campaign to create an all-India impact of its policies and programmes. One was in Chennai the other day and the other is in Sikar."

The party leadership's decision to send Mr. Bhattacharjee to Rajasthan was surely influenced by the inroads the party has seemingly made in the State with the help of two major public movements -- one for procuring irrigation water in the Indira Gandhi Canal Area Phase I in north Rajasthan, and the other, against the power hike in the farm sector.

Finally it looks Rajasthan is on the CPI (M) agenda, fitting well into the strategy to strengthen its position in the North.

The visit of five party MPs to Kota early this year to enquire into alleged harassment of the Christian group, Emmanuel Mission International, by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Government here had been one indication the priority the State had assumed of late in the party's action plan.

Yet there is more to the Bengal Chief Minister's visit to the Shekhawati region than meets the eye.

There is said to be a perceptible change in the attitude of the Marwaris living in West Bengal, especially in Kolkata, towards the CPI (M) and the results of the latest Assembly elections there are ample indication.

"In the latest elections, the Bara Bazar area, where the traders from the Shekhawati region live, supported the party which won as many as eight Assembly seats there," Prof. Vasudev observed. The area now has a CPI (M) Member of Parliament as well.

"There is a change in the attitude of the common man towards the CPI (M) in Rajasthan. That is reflected in the response from the Rajasthanis settled in West Bengal as well," Prof. Vasudev claimed.

Three of the 200 big rallies scheduled by the CPI (M) for its nation-wide campaign are in Rajasthan. Apart from Sikar, rallies are to be addressed by other senior party leaders in Sriganganagar on August 25 and in Udaipur on August 27.

The Udaipur rally, to be addressed by Nilotpal Basu, is to interact with the people from the tribal districts of Udaipur, Dungarpur and Chittorgarh.

The State unit of the party is expecting the general secretary, Prakah Karat, or the senior leader, Sitaram Yechuri, for the Sriganganagar programme, which will cover the districts of Bikaner, Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh.

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