BEIJING—With Bo Xilai in jail, a struggle is under way within the Communist Party over the policies he championed in Chongqing, which he advertised as a model for a new China.

In the megacity that Mr. Bo built as party secretary along the banks of the Yangtze River, the hand of a powerful state reached deep into the economy and the lives of ordinary citizens. The "Chongqing Model" promised a new vision of prosperity and social progress for China, but it harked back to the dark days of the Cultural Revolution.

Its political symbols were Mao-era "Red songs" and "Red broadcasting" on local TV networks, which went hand in hand with "Red terror" against underworld gangs, private businesses, local elites—and others who stood in Mr. Bo's way.

At first, it seemed that Mr. Bo's downfall would help to discredit that approach. Indeed, the signal to the country that his downfall was imminent came in March last year, when then-Premier Wen Jiabao used his annual televised news conference to lecture about the horrors of the Cultural Revolution—and make his boldest pitch for political reform. He didn't mention Mr. Bo by name, but there was no mystery as to whom he was talking about. The next day, state media announced Mr. Bo's dismissal.

But Mr. Bo's takedown, culminating Sunday in a sentence of life in prison and the seizure of all his personal assets, hasn't led to the political reforms that Mr. Wen had in mind—even though he never spelled out what, exactly, those reforms should look like.