Not recounting the biography of for-now the most discussed man, here are some implications of his “defiance”:

1) It showed that there is an actual ‘third’ path: you can oppose the UPA but not decide to vote with the BJP.

2) This is in turn will cause probl;ems for CPI(M) with the minorities who reserve a special grudge for the saffron brigade.Somnath has gracefully distanced himself fom the BJP and other right wing elements. This in fact validates some of the Party’s opponents. The Muslim League in Kerala, for example, had decided to continue in the UPA even while opposing the deal with the US. The action against Somnath will be read in the light of party’s action in Nandigram, the majority of whose farmers happen to be Muslims. This might further strain the CPI(M)-minority relationship.

3) For the public who had perceived the whole trust vote issue as just politics with no outcome, the action against Somnath looks like a spiritless enforcement of the letter of cadre law