KOLLAM: The 24th CPM state conference, which starts on Thursday, will set the political agenda of the party and the Left front for crucial upcoming elections. The four-day conference is being held just months before local-body elections, which would set the course for the assembly election in 2026.
And, it is no surprise that the party is prioritising its development document, which the leadership believes would be decisive in electoral outcomes. It assumes greater importance at a time when there is a lack of politicisation of comrades.
“This has in fact resulted in the infiltration of bourgeois ideology and parliamentary delusions,” a central committee (CC) leader said. “It has come about because the party has neglected educating its ranks. There is a long tradition of organising party schools for leaders.
This has now encountered some stumbling blocks. We have now decided to correct them by instructing cadres on our goals and political ideology. The state conference will set the ball rolling on the process,” he told TNIE.
The CPM is according utmost importance to realising the continuation of its government in the state for a third consecutive term. And it is banking on the document, ‘Novel Paths for a New Kerala’, a continuation of its earlier document accepted at the last state conference held in Ernakulam in 2022. “The party views for a new Kerala will be presented by the chief minister,” he said.
The document is said to reference the developmental achievements of the state over the last eight years and chart a future course based on a global overview.
The conference will also review the previous document, which was presented after the LDF recaptured power in 2021. It put in perspective the CPM’s ideas of development, which were to go hand in hand with its plans of protecting working-class interests.
‘Novel Paths for a New Kerala’ will be the third development document to be presented by a Communist party in the country. It was at the 1956 state conference of the united Communist party, held in Thrissur that the first document was presented. It became the manifesto of the CPI as it faced its first election in state as a separate entity.
PRAKASH KARAT TO INAUGURATE MEET IN KOLLAM TODAY
KOLLAM: The 24th CPM state conference will commence in Kollam on Thursday. Politburo member and CPM coordinator Prakash Karat will inaugurate the conference. It is the first time in 30 years that Kollam, considered a party stronghold, is hosting the event. As part of the conference, various parades, including the flag, torch, and flagstaff processions, began at martyrs’ memorials in Kayyur, Vayalar, and Sooranadu.
These processions converged at Sitaram Yechury Nagar, Ashramam Maidan, where a public meeting was held at 5pm. Following the procession, the flagpole was received by senior CPM leader Elamaram Kareem, while central committee member P K Sreemathi received the flag procession. The torch was handed over to state secretariat member T P Ramakrishnan. CPM central committee member and Finance Minister K N Balagopal hoisted the flag at Ashramam Ground.
The delegates’ conference will take place from Thursday to Sunday at C Kesavan Memorial Town Hall in Kodiyeri Balakrishnan Nagar. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, state secretary M V Govindan, senior state leaders, 486 delegates from various districts, 44 observers, and other guests will take part in the event.