Politbureau to chalk out CPM expansion plans

Kolkata, Sep 12: The two-day CPI(M) Politbureau meeting began here today to chalk out a roadmap for expanding the party and take up for discussions the next assembly elections and the Centre's economic and foreign policies.

Except the ailing veteran Harkishan Singh Surjeet, all other Politbureau members, including General Secretary Prakash Karat and party patriarch Jyoti Basu, are present at the meeting.

Party sources said one of the main agendas of the meeting was to assess the people's response at rallies organised by the party during its month-long nationwide campaign in August and how to capitalise it to make inroads outside West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura.

''The party has initiated a move to expand its support base across the country before the next Lok Sabha elections. Today's meeting will begin the spadework before the issue is discussed extensively at the Central Committee meeting to be held in Delhi next month,'' the sources said.

Taking up the issues of employment, job security, food and welfare of the poor, CPI(M) leaders held a string of public rallies throughout the country last month targeting largely the farmers, tribals and unorganised workers to rope them under its umbrella.

''The party is for sustaining the support it has mobilised and strengthening it further,'' the sources said.

The CPI(M), at its party Congress last year, had resolved to reach out to a larger section of the people and strengthen its frontal organisation comprising different sections.

The sources said Uttar Pradesh and Punjab in the north, Gujarat in the West, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in the south and Bihar in the east were the target states for the party's expansion plan.

The Politbureau meeting is likely to discuss the situation in the election-bound states like Uttar Pradesh and Punjab and deliberate on strengthening left unity and possibilities of forging electoral alliances.

The meeting will also take up for discussion the UPA Government's growing affinity to the USA and the contentious issues, including the Indo-US nuclear agreement and the note prepared by the party countering the Tarapore Committee report recommending full convertibility of the rupee.

UNI