Left fails to field candidates, supporters disappointed

GUWAHATI: Supporters of Left parties in Assam are disappointed with the fact that only one candidate is contesting from the Barpeta seat, which will go to the polls on April 24 along with Guwahati, Nagoan, Mangaldoi, Dhubri and Kokrajhar.
Though the parties once enjoyed considerable support in selected pockets of lower Assam, the failure to field candidates shows how the Left parties are losing ground here, say party insiders.Former MP Uddhab Barman is contesting from Barpeta.
"Though the Left did not win a single seat in the last assembly election, it still has a support base here. The party leadership wants us to defeat both Congress and BJP this election, but without any clear instructions, we are in a dilemma over whom to vote," said a CPM supporter in Guwahati.
Though CPM had earlier said the state committee would finalize a list of candidates whom it would support in constituencies where it had not fielded any candidate, a CPM insider said the party is unlikely to announce any name.
"There is a general appeal to our supporters to defeat Congress and vote for candidates with a secular outlook," said Isfaqur Rahman, a state secretariat member of CPM.
The party had taken an initiative to unite all Left and secular parties ahead of the Lok Sabha election, but the idea did not bear fruit as the main regional party of the state –Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) – decided to stay away from the coalition.
CPI, too, has instructed its local units to choose non-Congress and non-BJP candidates who have a clean image and secular outlook, said Drupad Bargohain, party leader.
A leader of a Left trade union said though some leaders could have played a proactive role in the election, many of them are sitting idle because of ideological differences.