Steps for course correction remain unimplemented, admits CPI(M) organisational report

Portraits of women communist leaders at an exhibition organised in connection with the 24th Party Congress of the CPI(M) in Madruai.
| Photo Credit: MOORTHY G.

  The political organisational report of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] has made a clean breast of the fact that it has not been able to implement the steps for course correction suggested in the past to rebuild itself in States where it has ceded ground, nor has it succeeded in effectively countering the rise of communalism.  

The report, presented by Polit Bureau member B.V. Raghavulu at the 24^th Party Congress here on Friday, portrayed a grim picture of the party organisation in West Bengal, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Telangana and Maharashtra. Except for Kerala, factionalism marred the progress of the party in most States including Tamil Nadu. The organisational work remained largely routine without being imaginative, unguided by contemporary experiences.  

While there were three major surveys presented by the party back in 2016 on the agricultural sector, industrial sector and on urbanisation, the recommendations made in their aftermath remained unimplemented. A senior leader said the organisational report placed emphasis on continued education of cadre and constantly engaging with the people by intervening in issues concerning them to be in step with the changing times.

This was true in Kerala too, where the party organisation failed to correctly read the growth of the BJP’s influence among sections of Hindus and Christians. The report specifically cites the drop in the party’s vote share in segments where it had done well in the 2021 Assembly elections. The report points to the need for improving the political level of cadres to be able to effectively expose the BJP, said a leader.

Political-tactical line

Earlier in the day, replying to the discussions on the political-tactical line, Polit Bureau coordinator Prakash Karat said State-specific alliances on the lines of the Left Democratic Front in Kerala could be formulated in individual States to garner strength. The Congress would not be a part of such alliance since its economic policies were not different from that of the BJP. But there could be electoral understanding with the Congress as part of the INDIA bloc wherever possible.

The party is set to amend its constitution to increase its membership fee to ₹10 from the present ₹5.