A very quick analysis/response (sent to me a few days ago) from a friend in India, regarding the election results and the CPI:
> So, first the performance in Kerela is not that shocking since
> Kerela has a history of swinging from election to election between
> the UDF (cong+) and the LDF (cpim+). However, even in Kerela there
> has been unprecedented factionalism this time around which
> contributed to the results.
>
> Now for Bengal which has been the real shocker, we need to go into
> a little bit of history. See, the left front came to power in 1977
> and started in earnest the land reforms. It is now universally
> accepted that the breadth and depth of land reforms and support for
> local self govt (panchayati raj) which was carried out in West
> Bengal still are without precedence anywhere else in the country and
> this brought real improvements in standard of living for the rural
> poor in West bengal. However, the benefits of those have now become
> the norm for the rural poor in WB and as is to be expected they now
> demand for a further improvement in their standard of living. Also,
> after 30 years, we are now in the 2nd or 3rd generation from the
> generation which got the land and hence the plot per individual has
> now gone down to 1/4 to 1/16th of the original plots allocated
> resulting in stagnation or lowering of the standard of living of the
> rural poor. Hence, the left front realized that in order to meet the
> aspirations of its base it needs to aggressively start the process
> of industrialization of the state. Hence the courting of Tatas, etc.
>
> However, this is where the problems begin. As you would expect, big
> business would extract its pound of flesh in return for coming to
> the state, especially when other states are falling one over the
> other to attract big business, giving them all kinds of sops and
> expropriating land from the politically disorganized rural and
> tribal people with full media support. So, when the Tatas and other
> were courted they made many demands like being close to Kolkatta,
> access to highways, project approval in 6 months, etc. At that time,
> there was a faction within the CPIM which resisted these demands
> saying this will antagonize the base and they should go slow.
> However, the faction in control of the West Bengal unit overruled
> them and decided to move ahead fast without launching an education
> program or getting enough buyin from all sections of society.
>
> It was claimed that the price given for the land was a multiple of
> the market rates. Also, even landless labourers/sharecroppers were
> given compensation which was calculated as a percentage of what they
> would get if they actually owned the land. The claim was that the
> level of compensation given was unprecedented compared to other
> parts of India, many times above the market rates and interest
> income from the lumpsum would actually be equal to or more than the
> yield on the land. However, this was done in a hurry without
> launching proper buyin programs from the people. Looking back this
> is a historic blunder!!! A party claiming to be a revolutionary
> people's party cannot and should not take unilateral decisions
> without people's consent. Also, a section of well off farmers which
> can afford industrialized and consolidated modern agriculture may
> actually stand to lose due to this and they were at the forefront of
> the Nandigram movement which was eventually hijacked by Mamata, the
> Naxalites and the press.
>
> Though the issues in two state are completely different, IMO there
> is a common thread between the two. I think the previous generation
> in CPIM top leadership used to be far more radical and militant -
> think about EMS, Ranadive, Gopalan, Pramod Dasgupta, etc. The
> current generation has somehow got lost in parliamentary politics
> and at least diluted the revolutionary character. To say that Karat
> erred in pulling his support due to the nuclear deal is wrong, if
> anything I would argue that the opposite is true - there is a need
> to be far more militant. Also, the fact that a revisionists like
> Somnath Chatterjee can rise so high in the party and the
> factionalism in the Kerela unit points to deep problems within
> party. I think the party needs a radical change in direction and
> purge the revisionist elements which over time have crept into the
> party. That especially the latter is easier said then done since
> this has become widespread especially in the West Bengal and Kerela
> units. However, if there is hope then it is that large sections of
> CPIM at least at the cadre level realize this and hopefully they can
> push the leadership to take decisive action. The alternative is the
> party ceases to be relevant and India loses its sole voice at the
> national level against neo-liberalization.
--ravi