166 HIS MAJESTY’S OPPONENT
when I went last year as Congress President.” He was con fi dent that
he had lost nothing by resigning and had, in fact, gained in popularity.
As a price of his popularity, his wallet—containing Emilie’s recent let-
ter and photograph—was picked from his pocket while he was sur-
rounded by a big crowd at Lahore.^71
Within a week of resigning, Bose had proposed the formation of the
“Forward Bloc” within the Congress to serve as a forum for the more
radical elements in the party. He considered this bloc to be an integral
part of the Congress, and his po lit i cal aim was to convert the majority
within the Congress to a radical point of view. He sought to provide
the Indian people with an alternative leadership at the national level in
place of the old guard, represented by the Congress High Command.
This alternative was based on a commitment to uncompromising anti-
imperialism in the current phase of Indian politics and undiluted so-
cialism once freedom was achieved.
In trying to bring the Indian National Congress round to a more
militant program, Bose differed from some leftist leaders such as M. N.
Roy, who wanted a clean break with the Congress. His position was
also at variance with other self- proclaimed leftists, who in the name
of unity would not risk put ting pressure on the existing Congress lead-
ership to move in the direction of greater democracy. Bose’s initial
hope had been that all left- leaning po lit i cal forces would gather under
the umbrella of the Forward Bloc. Soon it became apparent that the
Congress socialist party, with its two factions headed by Jaiprakash
Narayan and Minoo Masani; the Radical League, led by M. N. Roy; and
the communists, using the cover of the National Front, were not of a
mind to shed their distinct identities. All that they agreed to form was
a Left Consolidation Committee, with Subhas Chandra Bose as chair-
man. The sectarian ideological disagreements among the various leftist
groups prevented them from operating as a truly cohesive force.
In these circumstances, Bose decided to go straight to the people
preaching his radical program. He consolidated his po lit i cal base in
Bengal with a quick tour of Dacca district. From May to July 1939, he
embarked on an extensive tour of the United Provinces, Punjab, the
North- West Frontier Province, the Central Provinces, Bombay, and
Karnataka. Wherever he went, large crowds greeted him at wayside sta-