Saying it sans spin

Pesky journalists, be warned. Communist leaders do not like to be disturbed with interview requests in the middle of writing an election manifesto. The late Indrajit Gupta made this clear to one persistent journalist in the run-up to the 1996 elections. The Cambridge-educated CPI leader stonewalled him, quoting British socialist Tony Benn: "I did not enter the Labour Party 47 years ago to have our manifesto written by Dr Mori, Dr Gallup and Mr Harris."
More than a decade later, CPI leader D Raja exhibits the same seriousness about the party's election manifesto.So does the CPM's Brinda Karat. Her party will be the first off the block to unveil its manifesto this Monday. Karat says: "It is not a shibboleth or a ritual, but a reflection of our political approach and practice." Raja says the manifesto of a Left-leaning party is always about providing an alternate vision. He and Shamim Faizee are part of the sub-committee that is finalizing the CPI manifesto.
Karat says the CPM sees manifesto-writing as a democratic process; not the handiwork of a few. "We do not hire PR or advertising firms. The inputs come directly from people," she says. During the CPM's recent central committee meeting, the party received inputs from leaders. Most of these will be part of the manifesto. "Take recession, for example. Many comrades working in the field have shared their experience and its impact at the ground level," she says.
Left leaders say their manifestos attempt to reach out to various affiliate bodies working among - and for - dalits, women, students and others. "They have their own charters. We look at them seriously and include them in our manifesto," says Karat. She adds that the 2009 manifesto will include a set of promises to improve the lives of disabled people. The manifesto will showcase best practice from the Left Front experience of governance in West Bengal and elsewhere and seek to tack them on to the national agenda.