Buddhadeb Out in his “Own Way” to Bring Back Somnath

What could be called an unexpected attempt given the election timing, West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has said that in his “own way” he is making endeavours to bring back leaders like Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee back into the CPM.

“I miss him. For us, losing a personality like Somnath and a leader like him … on the part of the party and also on a personal level is a bit painful,” Bhattacharjee said.

In a TV interview while answering the query whether it would be possible to set aside personal feelings and egos to get leaders like Chatterjee and former MP Saifuddin Chowdhury, who had been expelled from the CPM, back into the party fold, Bhattacharjee replied: “An individual doesn’t make the party. The party is made up of several people. I can say this much that I am doing it in my own way.”

However, he did not specify whether his efforts were intended towards the return of both leaders or only Chatterjee.

“I won’t say anything specifically. I have talked to my colleagues on this issue in Delhi and Kolkata,” the chief minister said.

Chowdhury, who formed the Party for Democratic Socialism (PDS), however, said: “No body has talked to me on this.”

“May be his (Bhattacharjee’s) attitude is that we should return. But he knows why we came out of the party. He also knows whether such a possibility exists or not,” he said.

Chowdhury is contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Jadavpur constituency on a PDS ticket.