Discontent is brewing in the CPM over the party’s participation in a meeting convened by Mamata Banerjee, prompting Alimuddin Street to circulate a video clip in which politburo member Prakash Karat is heard saying the CPM’s fight in Bengal is against both the BJP and the Trinamul Congress.

Bengal chief minister and Trinamul chairperson Mamata had convened a meeting of national Opposition parties in New Delhi on Wednesday to deliberate on the ensuing Presidential polls. Representatives of 16 political parties, including the CPM, CPI and the RSP, attended the meeting.

The CPM’s representative was its Rajya Sabha member Elamaram Kareem.

Several CPM supporters in Bengal took to the social media to express their discontent over the party’s decision to take part in the meeting as it was convened by Mamata, the archrival of the Leftists in Bengal.

“Don’t our leaders remember how hard it has been for us to continue supporting the Left parties in Bengal since 2011. Do they forget the lives our comrades have lost in the hands of Trinamul goons? How can they still sit across the same table with Mamata Banerjee?” asked an SFI leader while talking to this newspaper. SFI is the student wing of the CPM.

“I understand that a united Opposition show during the Presidential polls is important. But for that, one cannot put under the carpet the atrocities of Trinamul,” he added.

In the backdrop of such criticism, Alimuddin Street mandarins decided to activate the CPM’s social media cell and circulate Karat’s speech from the 23rd party congress held in Kannur in April.

In the clip, Karat is heard saying that in Bengal, the CPM’s fight will be “anti-BJP, anti-TMC”. “We don’t consider TMC a democratic party. People who unleashed the fascist violence against us…. In this period, since the last party congress 36 of our comrades were killed by the TMC in West Bengal,” Karat said.

The CPM is also bringing to light the letter that CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury had written to Mamata on June 14 expressing his discontent over the way the meeting had been called.

State CPM secretary Md Salim referred to this letter while replying to a question on the disgruntlement within the party.

“It was decided long ago that the Opposition parties would sit together to discuss the Presidential polls after the Rajya Sabha elections…. But Mamata like always had to take the limelight and hence, she wrote those letters…. Our GS (general secretary) has clearly said the CPM has participated in the meeting only for the sake of unity,” Salim said.