At the conclusion of its 27th state conference on Tuesday, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI-M] announced the new 80-member state committee for West Bengal, with Politburo member Md Salim unanimously re-elected as State Secretary for a second term.
#### Composition of the New Committee
The 80-member state committee includes 14 women, with 11 new faces inducted into the committee. Notably, the current West Midnapore district secretary and former heavyweight minister, Sushanta Ghosh, was not only removed from his post but also dropped from the state committee altogether.
#### Exclusions and Reasons
Speculations regarding Ghosh’s fate had been rife for some time after a local woman filed a complaint against him with the party. Following the complaint, the party leadership instructed Ghosh not to participate in any party-related activities temporarily. However, he was officially removed from the state committee during the state conference.
Two veteran party leaders, Ashok Bhattacharya and Jibesh Sarkar, were also dropped from the committee due to their age. Bhattacharya previously served as the Municipal Affairs & Urban Development Minister in the erstwhile Left Front regime. Additionally, Rajya Sabha member and senior Calcutta High Court advocate, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, was also excluded from the state committee on age grounds.
#### Absence of Youth and Student Wing Representatives
No representatives from the youth and student wings were included in the new state committee. Political observers believe that the leadership refrained from revolutionary experiments in selecting the new committee, given the critical upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections in 2026.
#### Focus on Experienced Individuals and Fresh Blood
Ahead of the announcement, a Central Committee member stated that the “effort will be to make a perfect combination of ‘experienced organisation individuals’ and ‘fresh blood’.” Preference would be given to those capable of leading grassroots-level party workers and taking responsibility during disasters.
#### Future Directions and Independent Political Line
Political observers suggest that the new state committee must be prepared for both potentialities: contesting alone in 2026 or continuing the alliance with Congress in West Bengal, which began in the 2016 Assembly elections. A final decision on this matter is likely to be made at the Party Congress scheduled in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, in April.
Indications from the party’s central leadership point towards contesting alone, as suggested in the draft resolution for the forthcoming party meeting. The resolution emphasized an independent political campaign and mass mobilization, cautioning against blurring the party’s independent identity through electoral understandings or alliances.
#### Tripura and West Bengal Focus
The draft resolution also touched upon the states of Tripura and West Bengal, where the CPI-M-led Left Front had previous electoral understandings and seat-sharing arrangements.
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