CPI(M)’s 24th Party Congress called for Left unity in its inaugural session, which was attended by senior leaders from other Left parties. CPI general secretary D. Raja, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, RSP general secretary Manoj Bhattacharya, and All India Forward Bloc general secretary G. Devarajan were present at the event, presided over by veteran CPI(M) leader and former Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar.
“The presence of these leaders augurs well for the strengthening of Left unity,” said Sarkar in his presidential speech.
CPI(M) Politburo member Prakash Karat emphasised the role of the Left in countering external influences, stating, “It is only the Left which can lead the fight against imperialist designs on our country.”
The veteran leader also announced CPI(M)’s commitment to collaborating with all Left forces to build a Left and democratic alternative.
“The CPI(M) will renew its commitment to join hands with all secular and democratic forces to forge the broadest unity, so that the struggle against the BJP-RSS can be successfully conducted. From Madurai, let this call go out loud and clear: All Left, democratic, and secular forces should unite to push back the dark forces of reaction! Let us work together to build a ‘New India’—on secular, democratic, and progressive lines. Towards people’s democracy and socialism,” he said.
Notably, the 23rd CPI(M) Party Congress, held in Kannur, had also called for Left unity against the BJP and RSS. However, little progress was made on the ground in the past three years. CPI general secretary D. Raja remains one of the strongest proponents of uniting Communist movements. In the last CPI(M) Party Congress, he described Left unity as a “historic necessity”.
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Raja made a similar call this time as well, saying: “Comrades, the present situation demands that we, as Communists, rise to the occasion. All Communists and Left forces must forge principled unity to mount a decisive resistance against this corporate-communal assault.”
Speaking to THE WEEK, G. Devarajan, general secretary of the All India Forward Bloc, said that alliances today are formed based on electoral gains and losses rather than ideological commitment. “We have to set that aside. If we can come together on the basis of ideological commitment, there is a possibility of a common platform. I raised my concern in the [inaugural session of the CPI(M)] Party Congress that there hasn’t been enough commitment towards establishing such a platform,” he said. In Kerala, where the CPI(M)-led LDF is in power, the RSP and Forward Bloc are part of the opposition UDF, led by the Congress.
Notably, parties like the Communist Marxist Party (CMP) and the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP)—which were formed by factions that broke away from CPI(M)—were not invited to the Party Congress stage that declared ‘Left unity’. Speaking to THE WEEK, RMP leader and Vadakara MLA K.K. Rema—the widow of RMP founder and slain leader T.P. Chandrasekharan—mocked CPI(M)’s call for Left unity. “I find it funny when I hear CPI(M) talking about Left unity. CPI(M) is no longer Left—especially CPI(M) in Kerala. It is a party that leans right in everything. How can they put forward the idea of Left unity? That is why they cannot invite parties like ours. The so-called Left unity and discussions are just an absurd drama,” she said.