On April 6, a delegation of the Communist Party of India (CPI) Central Secretariat met the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Polit Bureau members and formally conveyed its central executive decision to work for a broader platform of democratic, secular and Left parties to counter the challenge from saffron forces.
A day earlier, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had sought out CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury in parliament for a discussion. Gandhi followed up with a meeting with CPI central secretariat member D Raja. During the informal and unstructured meeting at the party’s parliamentary office, Gandhi conveyed the Congress’ support to the CPI’s initiative for building a broader front of secular democratic and Left parties to challenge the growing might of the BJP.
The CPI and CPM leaders are likely to meet next week to further deliberate on the strategy for evolving a larger platform of secular, democratic and Left parties to counter the communal onslaught of RSS-BJP and the divisive agenda of the Modi government.
Left ideology and left parties held much wider sway over popular mind in the first few decades of independence. It was far more relevant than its legislative strength or number of votes it polled. It influenced government policies and was attractive to younger generations.
It held power in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura. It remained in power in West Bengal from 1977 to 2011.The Trinamool Congress-Congress alliance defeated the Left Front government in the 2011 assembly elections.
Its appeal and reach began to diminish in recent years as the Left movement began to split in different formations and the elder brother- the CPM- refused to work for Left unity. A mixed set of misplaced priorities, mistaken notion of their actual strength, superiority complex and a skewed understanding of the emerging middle class prevented the Left, particularly the CPM from playing its due role in national politics.
Gradually over the years, Left parties disappeared from the Hindi heartland and other states. In 1996, an opportunity came its way but the CPM wasted it by not allowing the then West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu to be the prime minister of the country. A five-year Jyoti Basu-led coalition government in New Delhi would have dispelled the popular impression that non-Congress and non-BJP parties cannot provide a stable government.
Withdrawal of support from the Congress-led UPA-I government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2009 over the Indo-US nuclear deal issue marked the downward journey of the Left parties as it suffered heavy electoral losses in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
There has been a love and hate relationship between the Left parties, particularly the CPM and the Congress in the past. The Left leadership has conducted its national politics from an anti-Congress perspective and has seen international politics through an anti-imperialist prism.
In the fast changing political environment in the country and in the backdrop of a serious challenge to national unity and country’s social fabric from RSS-BJP, there exists a strong possibility for the Left to reemerge as a significant player in national politics becoming relevant again.
drsatishmisra@gmail.com