Striking the first note of dissent within the CPM over party moves to seek Somnath Chatterjee’s resignation as Speaker and vote alongside the BJP against the trust vote being sought by the UPA government, Subhas Chakraborty, West Bengal Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, today said “the Speaker’s case should not be viewed as a CPM party affair” and “voting with the BJP will harm our party’s interests”.

Asked about the CPM pressure on Chatterjee to relinquish his post as Speaker, Chakraborty, a six-time minister, initially declined comment on what he said was the party’s “internal matter.” But then said: “The Speaker’s case should not be viewed as a CPM party affair. One must remember that when Somnath Chatterjee was chosen as Speaker of Lok Sabha, he was the unanimous choice of all coalition partners. His candidature and position should not be viewed as one that is backed by only one party. So any decision regarding him should have unanimity.”

Chakraborty was candid on the other big issue that has been troubling the party rank and file — voting with the BJP against the UPA. Asked what was his assessment about the CPM decision to vote alongside the BJP during the floor test in Parliament, he said: “Voting with the BJP will harm our party’s interests.”

He is the first to air a view that is shared by many not just within the CPM but also Left Front partners — they are extremely uncomfortable with the idea of taking sides with the BJP to try and vote out the UPA. In West Bengal, the CPM popularity has been dented in areas with reasonable Muslim concentration. With Lok Sabha polls not too far away, there is worry that the party may have to pay a heavy price for being seen as taking sides with the BJP.

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