COIMBATORE: In a departure from the norm, the communists have been left on the bench in Coimbatore for the TN elections.
The CPI and the CPM not contesting in any of the district’s 10 Assembly segments for the April 23 polls has left many upset, especially when Coimbatore that houses several industries has been a stronghold of Leftist movements.
The Left parties have contested in every TN election here, as their cadre base in the district is much higher compared to other western districts, except Tiruppur.
But this time they are out of the running, thanks to seat-sharing compromises in alliance politics. And being not in fray in Coimbatore – also called the Manchester of South India – is a first for them.
This time they were expecting Singanallur for the CPM and Valparai for the CPI, but the two seats went to the Congress and the DMK, respectively, during seat allocation.
“The Left grew in Coimbatore because of the strength of the labour force and the trade unions in the textile mills. They had won the maximum Lok Sabha elections from Coimbatore and shown strong presence in Assembly elections since 1952.
The Left were able to maintain a stronghold over Coimbatore, even when the Congress reigned supreme. This is the first election when the communist parties would step back,” said M Murugesan (71), a retired mill worker owing allegiance to the CPM.
“Whenever a Left party contests election, we go for campaigning regardless of the constituency and the results. This time we miss that experience,” said Mu Manoharan, an autorickshaw driver.
Both the CPM and the CPI had contested in at least one seat in Coimbatore all these years, and they had won 11 times (the CPM eight times and the CPI, three times).
“The CPM has been allotted just five seats. If we were given one additional seat, Singanallur would have been our choice. In the next election, we will demand and get more seats, and contest in at least one seat in Coimbatore,” CPM state secretary P Shanmugam said, adding that the party won’t lose ground here just because it’s not contesting this time.
CPI state secretary M Veerapandian said, “If the CPI was allotted six or seven seats, one of our preferences would have been Valparai. The seat allocation will not weaken the party’s structure. It is just a compromise for the elections.”