Communist Leader Leaves Behind Difficult Legacy

“I have come to give you some sad news. Jyoti Basu is no more with us. He has left us. Jyoti Basu is no more in this world.” It was an emotionally choked Biman Bose, the secretary of the Communist Party of India-Marxist who announced the death of Jyoti Basu, the party’s great patriarch, after a final 17-day illness.

Basu was admitted to hospital with pneumonia on New Year’s Day but his condition steadily worsened and he had to be put on a life support system. For over half a century, the political landscape of West Bengal was defined by the sheer strength of Basu’s personality.

A towering presence

Although his political life was confined mainly to West Bengal, the pragmatic Marxist came to be seen as an icon of both the Left and in national politics, and many a prime minister turned to him for advice - earning him the kind of reputation no other communist politician in India could match.

Known for a staid and sometimes brusque style that earned him the sobriquet of “a field marshal in a gentleman’s garb”, Basu convinced his party of the need to back the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government after the 2004 general election. The Communist Party eventually parted ways with the coalition in 2008 because it opposed the civilian nuclear cooperation agreement offered to India by Washington.

Loyalty to the party

Communist leader Sitaram Yechuri, who worked closely with Basu, spelt out his legacy. “One thing stands out and that is the stellar contribution he made to our generation and hopefully to the younger generation that whatever be your individual opinion, the collective opinion of the party is supreme. That is what made him distinctive because while being a Marxist, he worked for the coalitions that he successfully led and at the same time reached out to the people and mobilized them behind agendas he set."

After serving for 23 years as chief minister, Basu stepped down in 2000 to make way for his protege Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. A well organised succession of this kind is rare in Indian politics. Bhattacharjee said his mentor’s death symbolised a loss, both personal and political. “After he left the government, whenever I faced a serious problem, I used to go to his place and seek his advice. And he always was helpful in advising. But now there is no one to advice me in that sense. My party is here, my party leaders are here. But Jyoti Basu is no more.”

Since the general elections of 2009, the party’s fortunes have plummeted. Recent municipal body polls also demonstrated the steady decline of public support. Even after he stepped down as chief minister, Basu appealed to voters ahead of every election, asking them to vote the CPM to victory one last time. As it battles to stay in power in West Bengal, the party now desperately needs a new message to give voters for next year's elections.

Author: Murali Krishnan (New Delhi)
Editor: Grahame Lucas