The Left Introspects: ‘We Became Too Bourgeois’

Friday, May 13, 2011

By Jyoti Malhotra

Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters
Supporters of Trinamool Congress with their faces colored with green powder.

By mid-morning, joyous supporters had already thronged All India Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's home and party office, coloring themselves with green powder—the party's color—and dancing wildly to drummers.

But much of the rest of Kolkata was quiet, with Ms. Banerjee having banned victory rallies for fear of clashes with Left party cadres. For Marxist leaders, it was a particularly sober day, one in which one leader after another spoke of the need to "introspect" on why West Bengal's Left Front government was defeated after 34 years in power.

In interviews today, Ms. Banerjee has spoken of political violence in the state that has killed tens of thousands, although she did not make personal comments about her opponents.

 
 
 

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