THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It is a dream comeback for the CPM, relegated to the sidelines of national politics for over a decade.
With its combined strength in both Houses of Parliament countable on one hand, the party has emerged as the rallying force behind the agitation against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.Despite its declining electoral fortunes, the CPM has brought parties beyond the Congress-led INDIA bloc together around the agitation.
By uniting forces across the political spectrum, the party has reasserted its role in opposition coordination at a critical juncture in national politics.
CPM general secretary M A Baby’s letter to opposition leaders, urging a united response to developments involving the Election Commission, proved decisive.He even reached out to the party’s bete noire in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, seeking her support for the agitation.
Baby also met AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal to broaden the campaign, despite the latter’s differences with the Congress leadership.
“After reports emerged about the SIR row, our available politburo (PB) realised on September 23 that the issue could trigger a paradigm shift in the agitation against the Election Commission and the Union government,” Baby told TNIE.
The PB decided to reach out to all non-NDA parties, including those outside the INDIA bloc, to build a common platform for joint action,he said. The outreach included the Shiromani Akali Dal, Biju Janata Dal, Makkal Needhi Maiam, AAP and Trinamool Congress, among others.
This was followed by an INDIA bloc coordination meeting on September 30, where opposition leaders agreed on a joint programme of political action against the SIR and the EC.
The October 10 protest in Delhi brought together leaders from parties often divided over political strategy and their ties with the Congress.
The participation of Pinarayi Vijayan,Manik Sarkar,Mamata and Kejriwal underscored the breadth of the mobilisation.
For the CPM, the campaign was an opportunity to demonstrate that its organisational reach could unite parties well beyond formal alliance boundaries. Despite its electoral setbacks, the CPM continues to draw on its organisational network and experience in mobilising workers, farmers and students around common issues.
“We have maintained good relations with the CJP since the NEET agitation,” said CPM PB member Vijoo Krishnan.
“We have consistently raised issues affecting students, farmers and workers. We do not approach issues with a sense of fatalism. After 2014, the Modi government was forced to withdraw the land acquisition ordinance and the farm laws, in which the CPM played a major role,” he said.
The initiative also comes amid questions over the CPM’s ability to sustain its national political engagement following the death of former general secretary Sitaram Yechury in September 2024.
Yechury had maintained close ties with Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, and played a key role in coordinating opposition parties.
Baby’s outreach to leaders like Mamata and Kejriwal has helped the CPM expand its engagement beyond its immediate political circle. Whether this cross-party mobilisation can translate into a more durable political alignment remains an open question.
A PB member cited Baby’s consistent presence at street protests as another defining feature of his leadership.
“This is the first time we have seen a general secretary consistently joining protests, whether it is the workers’ agitation in Noida or student protests at Jantar Mantar,” the leader said on condition of anonymity.
“Prakash Karat and Yechury had senior leaders such as EMS Namboodiripad and Harkishan Singh Surjeet to guide them. Baby, however, has carried out the work without such senior leaders,” he said.
