Besides the five members of the State Secretariat, who form the core of the official group in Bihar, the CPM polit-bureau has summoned G.S. Vidyarthi, U.S. Shukla Taqui Rahim and Chandi Prasad, the representatives of the rebel faction.
From the national leadership's side, besides Promode Das Gupta, who is the in-charge of Bihar affairs in the party, P. Sundaraiah and B.T. Randive are too expected to attend that important meeting, which will have far-reaching consequences on the State as well as the national politics of the Marxist Communist Party.
It an open secret that the Bihar State CPM is divided Into two factions -- 'extremist and 'liberal'. U.S. Shukla, G.S. Vidyarthi, Taqui Rahim and Chandi Prasad form the 'extremist' group. The 'liberal' group consists of S.S. Srivastava, Hare Krishna, Bhagwan Sharma, Ramanand Singh and others.
The inner fight between these two groups has brought the State unit of the party to the threshold of a virtual split. The differences had come into the limelight for the first time in September 1971 when A.K. Roy, the lone CPM MLA from south Bihar and a veteran trade unionist, was expelled from the party.
Differences between the two groups cropped up over the question of his expulsion. However, despite wide protests from the 'extremist' faction, the rank and file and several District Committees, the Srivastava group prevailed and Mr Roy was expelled.
In the power fight that ensued, the Srivastava group successfully planned to capture both the State Committee and the State Secretariat. It is alleged that Mr Srivastava raised the strength of the State Committee from 13 to 22 and filled all the new vacancies with his staunch supporters.
The State Secretariat was, too, captured in the same manner. Its strength was raised from three to five, Mr Shukla was dropped from it and all the new vacancies were filled with pro-Srivastava men.
Differences between the two groups became sharper in April last when the infuriated State Secretary walked out of the meeting of the Patna Town Committee and later dissolved as it had become the centre of anti-party activities.
The walk out was unprecedented in the history of the Communist movement -- for never before had a member of the higher committee walked out of the lower committee meeting.
An intrepid party member, who made serious allegations against the Secretary's blue-eyed boy, who was nominated as the party candidate from Patna constituency despite the ргоtests from local members.
The accuser was willing to supply proof in support of his grave-natured charge. As a reward he -- a member of 15 years standing -- was suspended by the State Secretary.
Later In a stormy General Body meeting of the Patna Town CPM, while the State Secretary was accused of being a neo-revisionist, the Secretary dubbed the members as agents of Yahya Khan for their stand on the question of the so-called Bihari Muslims in Bangla Desh.
The meeting ended with both sides hurling abuses and counter-abuses; even the national leadership was termed as communalist by some of the party members.
Another important accusation levelled against the state leadership was that the election ticket from Sonepur was allocated to a person who was not even a member of the party. Her only qualification was that she was the daughter of a pro-official member of the State Secretariat.
Although, when asked. Mr S.S. Srivastava, the State Secretary described the tumour of the split in his party as rubbish nonsense and said that groupism is incompatible with the Marxist-Leninist party.
The election review passed in the April 30-May 2 meetings of the CPM State Committee gives a fair indication of the factionalism prevalent within the party.
The document points out the dangerous trend of groupism and sabotage within the party. It vehemently criticised two of the district committees (Patna and Gaya) where the rebels have their sway.
While the Gaya District Committee had been criticised for its failure on the election front, the Patna District Committee had been accused of blatant opportunism.
In Indirect reference, District Secretary Taqui Rahim was charged with gross Individualism for his participation In the Bihari Bachao convention.
Confirming the report, State Secretary S.S. Srivastava told this correspondent that the Bihari Bachao convention was attended by one of our State Committee members (Mr Taqui Rahim) who was neither asked by the State Committee nor did the party sanction it. He was later censored for it.
On the other hand, the Patna District Committee had twice rejected the election review passed by the State Committee. It still holds that its stand on the question of 'Bihari' Muslims in Bangladesh was correct.
It has demanded a fresh state conference and the formation of new bodies. What they want at the moment, according to informed sources, is a purge in the State leadership.
Ironically, all this is happening in a party which is yet to come out of its womb. Except for a few labour unions in some industrial areas like Dhanbad and Jamshedpur and some pockets in the agrarian belts of Nawada, Purnea and Champaran, the CPM has no influence worth the name in Bihar.
Even these pockets are more the creation of the individual leaders in the areas concerned, such as A.K. Roy, S.N. Singh (who now leads a faction of Naxalites), G.S. Vidyarthi, Ramanand Singh and U.S. Shukla.
Even judging from a parliamentary point of view the party occupies a very negligible position in State politics.
In the last mid-term assembly poll, although the party contested as many as 51 seats, it could not capture even a single one and in the process lost its sole seat in the Bihar Assembly. However, A.K. Roy was elected as an independent member.
The Seachlight
May 12,1972
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