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Kuldeep Chauhan
CPM, its trade union CITU and farmers’ front Himachal Kisan Sabha have been at the forefront of leading workers’ and farmers’ agitations on issues that affect the common man in the state. But the party fails to translate that “connect” into votes during elections, if one goes by the election results.
Even though senior CPM leader Rakesh Singha won the Theog Assembly seat in 2017 Vidhan Sabha elections and its leaders Sanjay Chauhan and Tikendar Panwar won the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Shimla Municipal Corporation election, the Left party has failed to make its presence felt in the Lok Sabha elections in Himachal, as the state politics continues to be dominated by the Congress and BJP only, both in Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections.
In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, first-timer AAP secured about 2.0 per cent vote share, while CPM’s share was dismal 0.87 per cent, as compared with the winner BJP’s 53.3 per cent and runners-up Congress’ 40.7 per cent. In 2017 Vidhan Sabha poll, the Left contested 19 seats — CPM 14, CPI three, but out of these, only one CPM candidate, Rakesh Singha, won from Theog.
In the Lok Sabha Sabha poll, CPM just got 0.87 per cent vote share, which was a further drubbing from its 2009 show, when party candidate Dr Onkar Shad secured 20,000 votes from Mandi seat, which the party had contested then. CPM candidates Kushal Bhardwaj from Mandi and Jagat Ram from Shimla got 25,389 votes. Bhardwaj just polled 11,434 votes, while Jagat Ram ended up with 13, 955 votes in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The third front failed to emerge as a political force in Himachal even though AAP’s victory in Delhi Assembly elections in 2013 rekindled hopes of an alternative formidable political force in the country.
AAP did not field any candidate this time, while the CPM has fielded Daleep Kaith, an SFI activist and a zila parishad member from Rampur, for the Mandi Lok Sabha seat. BSP have also fielded its candidates on all four seats, but it has no significant presence and activism in the state. CPM has decided not to field its candidates on three other seats for the May 19 Lok Sabha general elections, and the reason cited is: “CPM does not want to split the anti-BJP votes in Himachal.”
Senior CPIM leader and left’s lone legislator from Theog Rakesh Singha said: “The party has fielded Daleep Kaith from Mandi, but it has decided not to enter the poll arena from three seats, so that anti-BJP votes in the state do not split.”
CPM candidate Kaith is banking on the support of trade unions, Anganwadi workers, youths and students and is trying to present CPM as an alternative before voters. “We have started with the campaign highlighting the failure of the BJP to solve the agrarian crisis, while it gave huge benefits to the corporate by waiving off the NPAs that run in excess of several lakhs,” Singha said.
He said the BJP-led government at the Centre tried to erode the credibility of democratic institutions such as the CBI, RBI, federal structure, police, Army and the fourth estate. “The Centre has also tried to weaken the social fabric by crushing dissent, which is unhealthy for a democracy,” he said. CPM also released its manifesto, promising a minimum monthly wages of Rs 18,000 for workers, five bigha land to each farmer and profitable support price and insurance cover for all crops, regularisation of MGNREGS, mid-day, ASHA and outsourced workers, regular government jobs and social security. To strengthen Himachal’s economy, CPM advocated cess on cement and other resources exported from state, Rs 1,000 crore annual green bonus from the Centre and securing a release of Himachal’s share of 7.19 per cent from Chandigarh. CPM remains unfazed by the reverses in successive polls and continues to struggle with the masses to make some cut. “Both Congress as well as the BJP take turns after every five years to mortgage state’s resources to big corporate houses, pursuing anti-people liberal economic policies. “Time will come when voters will reward our rightful efforts,” he expressed hope.
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