Left a vanishing bloc in Bihar?

PATNA: The defeats suffered by three Left parties in seven seats they contested in the state have left many to consider that the bloc has become a vanishing tribe caught between ‘kamandal’ and ‘mandal’.
The Left was hopeful of winning at least two seats in the state – Begusarai, from where the CPI had fielded former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar and Ara, which the RJD had left for CPI-ML’s Raj Kumar Yadav alias Raju Yadav.However, the two Left candidates lost by a huge margin even in these two seats.
Kanhaiya was in the fray on his own steam, pull and party support. Unlike him, Raju Yadav had the support of the RJD-led Grand Alliance partners, who understandably could muster the support of their core caste constituencies for him.
The enthusiasm they generated among their constituents gave the impression that they could emerge winners, but their discomfiture led to the belief that alliance or no alliance, the Left’s prospects in the state are doomed, at least in the parliamentary elections.
The shock for the Left has been all the more real because Kanhaiya conducted the campaign in a style that could also appeal to the middle class sections, as writers, social workers and film personalities from across the country had come out in his support.
The CPI (ML) had fielded its candidates in four seats – Ara, Siwan, Karakat and Jehanabad – the CPI at Begusarai and Purbi Champaran and the CPM at Ujiarpur.
According to political experts, the defeat would reduce Left’s bargaining power with the mainstream non-NDA parties even in the 2020 assembly elections. Consequently, they would have to concentrate on rebuilding their bases to enter the 2020 electoral fray with increased strength.