Can the Left Rejuvenate? CPI(M) General Secretary Outlines New Tactics Against BJP and Neoliberalism

What do the results mean for the Left, particularly in West Bengal and Kerala?

Not having a CPI(M)-led government in any State is an unprecedented situation since 1977. There is an erosion of our influence outside the parliamentary sphere, also. We are confident of identifying the reasons for these setbacks, and through rectification, we are sure of staging a comeback. To do so, we may have to come up with appropriate tactics without altering our basic politics. Taking this to the youth and Gen Z is a challenging but not impossible task. We will have to evolve suitable new approaches to increase our connect with these sections. Growing religiosity in India and its misuse for communal polarisation, and manufactured propaganda that communists are hostile to people’s religious beliefs are also peculiar problems. These have to be tackled.

Can the Left respond to these challenges within its ideological framework, given the challenges of neoliberalism, growing religious polarisation, and welfare- and identity-based politics?

We need to continuously update our political and ideological framework to deal with neoliberalism and welfare- and identity-based politics, which offer no real solution to the major concerns of the people. We would be able to do this by upholding our class approach and also linking it with the fight for social justice. The religious polarisation and communalisation can also be fought through this process by winning over all sections of secular minded people. Equally important is distinguishing between general religious-minded people and those who abuse and misuse religion for communal purposes. The former should be mobilised in the fight against the latter.

With its reduced footprint in Parliament, how can the Left still effectively challenge anti-people policies?

While parliamentary politics has its importance, we take up people’s livelihood issues through extra-Parliamentary struggles too. In 13 States across north India, the CPI(M) organised 33 Jan Akrosh Jathas [People’s Anger Marches] highlighting problems of the rural poor, agricultural labourers, farmers, workers and people at large, beginning from the last week of February to the third week of March. This culminated in a huge rally at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on March 24.

Do the electoral setbacks suggest that the Left has to work harder on raising people’s issues?

Yes. We do have to work harder raising the livelihood issues of the people. At the same time, maintaining constant and close links with people at all levels is very important.

What is the Left up against in India?

We consider the fight against the BJP and the RSS ideologically and politically as the primary immediate task, as an integral part of, and along with, the struggle against extreme capitalist economic policy which is affecting the common people adversely. Fight against caste oppression and the exploitation and suppression of women, along with defending the rights of the minorities and all marginalised sections, also constitute the key components of our tasks.

Does the INDIA bloc become irrelevant now that most of its constituents—the Left, the DMK and the Trinamool Congress—are not in government?

There are problems in the working of the INDIA Bloc. However, when elections come, we would be able to mobilise various political forces opposed to the BJP and its allies, depending on the ground situation in each State. In Parliament, too, we will continue with floor coordination. In some States, there are practical problems for the INDIA bloc to remain together. This is unavoidable.

Why did your party feel compelled to support the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) in Tamil Nadu?

The BJP wanted to capture Tamil Nadu using the AIADMK. When it failed in this, it tried to misuse the Governor and install the AIADMK government through the backdoor. The BJP was trying to operate through the Governor appointed by the Union BJP government. The elections threw up the TVK as the single largest party, 11 short of a majority. Constitutional values and the Supreme Court judgment are very clear. The Governor should have invited the single largest party, which he refused to do. In such a situation, the CPI(M), along with the CPI and the VCK, took the correct decision to extend support to the TVK. This helped uphold the people’s verdict and prevent President’s Rule or an opportunistic government with strings in the hands of the BJP. This outside support that we are extending now has been widely appreciated by the people and youth of Tamil Nadu and elsewhere.

Is it still possible for the Left to rejuvenate itself beyond electoral politics and re-establish the connect it once had with the people?

Without the Left rejuvenating itself beyond electoral politics as well as in electoral politics, the future of not only the Left but the country as a whole would be in peril. The manner in which CPI(M) leaders and trade union leaders along with CPI(M) MPs went to the spot where hapless contract workers were agitating in Noida is an example of how the CPI(M) and the Left are committed to the cause of the workers. No other political party or trade union tried to intervene as we did, and this politics that expresses the aspirations of the working people for their liberation from oppressive conditions is what defines the Left. Since this oppression is the reality that confronts the majority of the people, the politics of the Left has a real connection with them and their lives.

How can the Left overcome the disproportionate influence of money and corporate media on the electoral system?

It is true that politics has been reduced in our country into occasional elections, and elections are dominated by bourgeois political parties. They use immense money power, along with the corporate media, print, visual and social media as well as muscle power. The Left and democratic forces are duty-bound to develop alternative models of communication and direct contact with the masses through neighbourhood meetings. The Kairali TV channel in Kerala is one such experiment along with the news portal Left Views. A strong push for electoral reforms is another area where we need to work with perseverance. The existing rules to control malpractice are observed in its violation. A broad platform on these issues is urgently needed.

What will it take to revive the Left?

The decline in the electoral and mobilisation strength of the Left forces at present should not lead one to a negative conclusion regarding the future of the Left in India. The bankruptcy of neo-liberalism is increasingly becoming evident. In the contemporary political landscape, almost all the major political formations are neo-liberal; it is only the Left that provides an alternative. It is this political space that guarantees the future of the Left in India.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala, during the last decade of its rule, has demonstrated how, even within the limitations of India’s federal system, it has been possible to move towards a more egalitarian society without extreme poverty and to guarantee the basic needs of ordinary people. At the same time, it has also demonstrated the possibility of a paradigm shift, with a greater focus on overcoming the infrastructure deficit and transitioning to the knowledge economy, which would address the chronic unemployment of the educated. All these are sought to be achieved while holding steadfast to secular and progressive values.

I am aware that the above claim of mine will surely be challenged by a simple question: if so, what accounts for the severe electoral setback for the Left in the Kerala Assembly elections?

The answer is complex. While the poorer strata of society have remained steadfast with us, there has been a shift among the middle class, which is the result of a complex interplay of caste-community identity politics. We also suspect tactical voting in select constituencies between the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the United Democratic Front (UDF). While there has been a shift of votes away from the LDF, the vote share of the NDA has also declined.

However, the key question for us is to find out why there has been a shift of votes away from the LDF. Being continuously in the State government also brings with it the danger of degeneration, many symptoms of which we ourselves identified in our rectification document and warned our cadres about after we came to government leadership for the second time. It would appear that we have not been successful enough in overcoming our weaknesses. The people have different standards for assessing the Left, and it would appear that we have not lived up to their expectations. Therefore, we are now engaged in a bottom-up process of free and frank self-criticism and criticism in order to make an in-depth analysis of the electoral defeat and overcome our weaknesses.

We are accustomed to alternating in State government leadership in Kerala, and the last term of continuous rule for a second consecutive term was an exception. The resilience of the Left in Kerala is deeply rooted in the role it has historically played in the social reform movements, the struggle for Independence, and the building of organisations of workers and peasants. In this process, we have contributed to the redistribution of land, substantial increases in wages, and universal education and healthcare—in short, a better life for the people. It is this foundation of the Left in Kerala that gives us the confidence that we shall overcome and regain the leading role in Kerala politics.

We need to self-critically analyse our experiences in other States, too, including West Bengal in a similar manner.

Meanwhile being with the people, especially the downtrodden, oppressed and marginalised is very important for a communist party. Taking up livelihood issues seriously along with fighting communal-neo-fascist moves of the Narendra Modi-Mohan Bhagwat-Amit Shah trio is crucial.

The Jan Akrosh Jathas organised by our party in north Indian States culminating in the huge rally at the Ramlila maidan in New Delhi was a testimony of non-parliamentary intervention of our party for the cause of people. More systematic efforts are needed to regain the lost influence of the party and Left forces. It goes without saying that without a resurgent Left, the future of our country would be impossible.

The Trinamool Congress has called for opposition unity, but the Left and the Congress have rejected the overture. Why?

The Trinamool Congress is a party that is associated with the INDIA bloc. However, under its rule in West Bengal, hundreds of our comrades were murdered. There are innumerable cases of rape, sexual abuse, and assault on our women cadres. Rape and assault are used here as a semi-fascist weapon by the Trinamool and its hoodlums. Apart from this, there are over a lakh false cases against our people. Thousands have been displaced. There are instances of livelihood being snatched away and threats that if you don’t leave the red flag you can’t exist in the land. In such a situation, Ms Mamta Banerjee giving a call of opposition unity to fight the BJP in West Bengal is insincere.

What is your overall reading of the election results?

The BJP’s performance of retaining Assam and Puducherry in an alliance and capturing West Bengal for the first time underlines a gain of the Hindutva-communal-corporate forces representing the far right of an utterly authoritarian character. The defeat of the LDF led by the CPI(M) in Kerala after 10 years of pro-people governance, which was corruption-free and development-oriented, is a setback. The BJP winning three seats in Kerala is also alarming. The four seats won by the CPI(M) and the CPI in Tamil Nadu foiled the machinations of the BJP. The CPI(M) opening its account in West Bengal after a gap is a small consolation. In Puducherry, too, the CPI(M) won one seat. In West Bengal, the election work was enthusiastic, but we couldn’t convert that into votes.

What accounts for the uneven development of the Left in India?

We need to seriously examine the reasons for the uneven development of the CPI(M) and the Left. Now, the challenge is the decline we are faced with. Connecting with the people, tackling the caste phenomenon and identity politics are the main challenges. We need to combine the class struggle on livelihood issues and struggle for social justice. Carefully crafted broad fronts against the communists and the Left by all shades of caste, communal and reactionary forces are the stumbling blocks before our growth. This will be countered by equally broad Left and democratic class fronts.

What are the specific challenges for the recovery of the Left in West Bengal?

During the election this time, significant progress could be achieved in unifying various big and small leftist groups and parties, including the CPI(M-L) Liberation. Lots of youth, students, women, and elderly people participated with great enthusiasm. We were able to organise huge rallies at Brigade Parade Grounds, mobilising youth, slum dwellers, workers, peasants, and the rural poor. These movements are important. We need to translate them into votes too. Sooner or later, we will succeed in that too.

The West Bengal Chief Minister publicly credited the CPI(M) with supporting the BJP in some constituencies. Is there any truth to this claim?

That was a clever and over-smart stance by the Chief Minister aimed at building an opening to CPI(M) sympathisers and Left-minded people. We know that our workers in West Bengal are political enough to understand the dangers of a BJP controlled by the fascistic RSS. The CPI(M) will carry out relentless struggles against the Sangh Parivar. The defence of secularism as enshrined in our Constitution and struggling along with the toiling masses for their lives and sustenance are the main tasks of the communists and the Left, along with fighting caste oppression and exploitation. In this, the BJP governments in Delhi and Kolkata would be our primary targets. To divert the attention of people from this is what prompts the West Bengal Chief Minister to propagate such untruths.