Ever since the Left Front government came to power in West Bengal in 1977, Raina, in Burdwan district, has been known as a red bastion. But on March 22, a CPI(M) worker, Sohrab Dewan, was killed by a group of armed people in Raina.

The incident would have been treated as just another murder, but for Raina’s political tradition. The killing in a Left fortress highlights the change in political alignment that is sweeping large parts of Bengal. It reveals how the Trinamool Congress is denting the rural base of the red brigade.

After a complaint was lodged in the case, police went to Raina to pick up the accused named by the local CPI(M) leaders. But they faced stiff resistance from the villagers, who dug up roads and put up blockades. For two days, the locals prevented the police from entering the village. An investigation was allowed only when the administration promised that no police action would be taken.

The CPI(M) Politburo, in a rare move, responded strongly to the incident. Issuing a formal statement on the clash in Burdwan, the party said: “These targeted assassinations of CPI(M) cadres are a part of a nefarious design by the Trinamool Congress and Maoist collaborators.”

But Trinamool leaders have denied the charge. “Why is the CPM shouting about the murder? We have no link with the Maoists. Besides, the murders are taking place where we have no presence,” said Trinamool legislator Sovandeb Chatterjee.

“Look at the Burdwan incident. A group of CPI(M) supporters has joined our party and they are fighting each other. The death was a result of that clash,” claimed Chatterjee, who is in charge of the party’s affairs in Burdwan district.

... contd.