Viewing the party congress set to begin here on Wednesday as the last boat for salvaging itself from further ignominy at the national level, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] has taken a critical look at the weak links in the party’s organisational chain.
The organisational report, which will be presented at the congress by Polit Bureau (PB) member Prakash Karat, is believed to contain scathing observations against the PB for failing to intervene effectively to amplify the mass struggles undertaken by the party.
Periodic review
The report slams the Central leadership for inaction, pointing out that a mandatory periodic review of leaders’ performance had not been done.
Some PB members were not available to carry out their responsibilities, said a senior leader, adding that the party would now want to have a “more effective PB and Central Committee” and that the Central secretariat would be reconstituted this time around after a long gap.
In its review of the party’s electoral show, the organisatonal report says the 2019 Lok Sabha elections saw the party put up a poor performance by winning just three seats and a vote share of 1.77%.
While the party was not allowed to function in West Bengal and Tripura, its erstwhile strongholds, the party faced an erosion of its support base in Kerala in the wake of the developments around the Sabarimala temple.
Also, the minorities were made to believe that the Left would not be able to put up a strong opposition to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). However, the slew of welfare measures undertaken by the CPI(M)-led State government saw the coalition through to a second term in Kerala.
“This is a fact that should be understood in perspective and with a great sense of responsibility,” said a leader.
Failed strategy
According to a PB member, the West Bengal unit was reprimanded by the Central leadership for breaching the political-tactical line adopted at the 22nd party congress as the party went ahead and forged an electoral alliance with the Congress and the Indian Secular Front (ISF) which bombed. There was also an ideological deviation on the part of the Telangana unit which tried to forge a caste-based Bahujan alliance, he said.
The organisational report is understood to have castigated both instances.
On Wednesday, when the party congress gets under way, general secretary Sitaram Yechury will present the political report on which discussions will be held over the next two days.
Efforts to open multiple battlefronts against the BJP would top the party’s agenda. The focus, meanwhile, would also fall on Kerala, the party’s last citadel, and the model of governance that gave it a second consecutive term.
A senior leader told The Hindu that pamphlets on the ongoing schemes and projects of the Left government, including the controversial semi-high-speed SilverLine rail project, would be given to the 800-odd delegates to understand and maybe discuss the same.
“While it focussed on welfare, the Left govt was also able to implement infrastructure projects worth ₹60,000 crore. The dual focus is continuing and the detractors of SilverLine are short-sighted,” he said.
