Marx’s theory of history came alive as 4 comrades discussed the past, present and future of the political party they had rooted for all their lives

History does nothing, it does not possess immense riches, it wages no battles. It is men, real, living, who do all this.

Karl Marx’s theory of history — an attempt to describe the way humans change their environments and (in dialectical relation) the environments change them — came alive in a Midnapore tea stall on a sultry May evening as four comrades discussed the past, the present and the future of the political party they had rooted for all their lives.

“This region has a history of so many Left movements. Historically, the Left has been so powerful in this area… But look at the present situation, there is no hope for us in the polls. I don’t know what the future would be like,” said Amal Pal, a 38-year-old party member.

His long-time comrades Barun Pal, Rajeshwar Pal and Bankim Pal joined him in the discussion, at a tea stall in Keleghai bus stand. The discussants — none of them went to college — narrated their interpretation of the region’s political history during the discussion that was disrupted by frequent power outages. But as the comrades oblivious of Marx’s theories spoke, they willy-nilly endorsed what the author of the Communist Manifesto wrote more than 170 years ago. “We are faithful to the party for generations, and so we cannot vote elsewhere. But we don’t have supporters as they have deserted us. Frankly speaking, our family members won’t even vote for the Left candidate,” said Rajeshwar.

The crux of the admission was simple: the CPM doesn’t have the “men” though it had a “history” of popular approval in the region.

“My father was a CPM supporter, but I am not,” said a tribal youth, sitting outside a sweet shop in Keshiari Bazar, around 25km from IIT Kharagpur.

The school dropout, a contract labourer in chemical plants in Mumbai, said he migrated to the western part of the country as he is assured of a daily earning of Rs 600. In his home state, his daily earning was barely Rs 150 after putting in 12 to 14 hours on days he could find work.

“I have heard CPM used to fight for poor people, but I haven’t seen any such struggle,” said the youth, in his mid-twenties, who has come down to cast his vote in Sunday’s battle.

The battle in question is for the Medinipur parliamentary seat — earlier called Midnapore — that had sent stalwarts like VK Krishna Menon (as Congress nominee) and Indrajit Gupta (of the CPI) to Parliament. For a berth in the 17th Lok Sabha, the contest is between Manas Bhuniya of the Trinamul and Dilip Ghosh of the BJP. The CPI’s Biplab Bhatta, a Left nominee, is also in the fray.