To reclaim its lost electoral ground in next year's West Bengal Assembly polls, the CPI(M) held a crucial four-day state conference, which concluded on Tuesday. The conference, held at Dankuni in Hooghly district, focused on the party's revival strategy, culminating in the re-election of Mohammed Selim as the state secretary.
The state committee saw minor reshuffles with 11 new faces. The 80-member committee has 14 women, including central committee member Debalina Hembram, former DYFI state president Miankshi Mukherjee and SFI all India joint secretary Dipsita Dhar, among others.
Due to age, veteran leaders like Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya and Ashok Bhattacharya have been excluded from the state committee. Popular youth leader Kalatan Dasgupta, who was arrested during the RG Kar protests, was also excluded from the committee.
Meanwhile, the conference was attended by several senior politburo members, including Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat, Manik Sarkar, Surjyakanta Mishra, Tapan Sen, Nilotpal Basu and Ramchandra Dome. They addressed over 550 party members from across the state, setting the groundwork for the party's strategy in the upcoming elections.
Reportedly, the party aims to strengthen its organisation from the booth level. A report presented at the conference outlined a strategy for this effort. The party has decided to form several state and district-level committees.
The CPI(M) also appears to be equally focused on challenging both the Trinamool Congress and the BJP. Speakers on Tuesday stressed the need to combat the BJP's “communal Hindutva” forces and the TMC's corrupt “goonda raj” governance.
Also read
- Farmers protest against draft agricultural marketing policy in Kolkata, demand withdrawal
- Kolkata Tangra case: Did brothers conspire to kill their wives? Mystery thickens as police investigate three deaths
- Bar Council of West Bengal to go on strike to protest against draft Advocates Amendment Bill, 2025
- Kolkata: West Bengal celebrates International Mother Language Day
"We have decided in this state conference that in the coming days we will build a stronger movement against the corrupt, criminal and anti-people TMC government in West Bengal," arat said, adding that the TMC’s anti-people policies and hooliganism have created a space where the BJP and RSS are trying to spread their communal agendas.
"The RSS plans to make West Bengal the hub of Hindu extremist forces,” he continued. “That’s why we have decided to fight the communal forces as well."
Selim, the CPI(M)’s re-elected state secretary, cited the RG Kar incident to claim that both the BJP and Trinamool work in cahoots with each other. "They are doing the same business with different signboards. The Kolkata Police and the CBI showed no difference between Modi and Mamata," he said.
