The party has decided to discuss all the issues, including national politics, in its four-day-long party congress to be held in Kolkata from December 17. While CPM general secretary Prakash Karat and CPI general secretary A B Bardhan will attend the meet, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will not participate in it despite the event being held in Kolkata, said Bloc sources. The Nepal Maoists have also, meanwhile, refused to attend the party congress even as the Bloc had invited them well in advance.

“They have told me that in the current situation they will not be able to leave Nepal,” said Debabrata Biswas, general secretary of the All India Forward Bloc.

Presenting the official document of the party meet, Biswas said that the confusion over land acquisition, industrialisation, high-handedness and over dependence on bureaucracy are among the reasons that led to the Left Front’s defeat in the recent Lok Sabha polls. “It is a matter of serious concern that the Left Front is trailing in 195 Assembly segments of the total 294,” said Biswas.

The Delhi-based leader said the behaviour, megalomaniac attitude, character and morality of the leaders from Left parties has created a new class of leadership, which is totally anti-Left in nature.

“The under-development in rural areas, flaws in education, health and employment sector are raising questions about the governance of the Left Front in Bengal. The 32-year-old government has failed to emerge as a role model for the rest of India,” said Biswas.