Buddhadeb to bunk politburo meet after CPM poll debacle

18 May 2009

With the Left parties in disarray after the Lok Sabha poll, West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has decided to skip the Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo meeting scheduled to be held tomorrow in New Delhi.

The meeting has been convened to review the party's poor electoral performance.

Bhattacharjee has not attempted to explain his planned absence, lending credence to the belief that he is deeply disappointed with the functioning of party general secretary Prakash Karat, which is widely considered autocratic.

With its bastions in West Bengal and Kerala shattered by the electorate, Bhattacharjee reportedly fears that the meeting would turn into a blame game, which he wants to avoid.

His avoidance of the meet is also seen as a defiance of the party's New Delhi leadership, headed by Karat and senior leader Sitaram Yechuri.

Bhattacharjee, along with CPM doyen Jyoti Basu, were against the Left withdrawing support to the United Progressive Alliance over the nuclear deal last year.