(Summary of CC deliberations and decisions, Delhi, 27-30 March, 2000)

 1.  February Assembly Elections 

In the recent Assembly elections, for the first time in Bihar CPI entered into a seat-sharing arrangement with CPI(ML), and even though the agreement was not complete and did not have much of an electoral significance, it sent out a positive message among Left ranks. The CPI was keen to forge a Left and Democratic Front involving the SP and NCP among others and also to give a call for a Left-Democratic government in the state. We firmly discouraged such absurd notions and insisted on making a realistic beginning on the basis of seat-sharing. We also had a few rounds of discussion with the SP, but eventually no adjustment could be worked out with them.We conducted a spirited election campaign and made our presence felt as a growing third force in Bihar. In terms of results, we however failed to increase our tally of six seats. Of our previous seats we could retain four (except Sandesh and Darauli) while finishing second in five constituencies including two narrow misses. In terms of votes, we polled 9.25 lakh votes amounting to 2.50% of the total polled votes  in the state. The CPI won only five seats, including two narrow victories and several narrow defeats. However, in terms of votes polled they are ahead of us by nearly one percentage point.

In spite of a few encouraging results in certain new districts and developing constituencies like Barsoi (Katihar), Dhanwar (Giridih), Sikta (Champaran), Bhore (Gopalganj) and Ghosi (Jahanabad), and recoveries in some of our old constituencies like Karakat (Rohtas), Hilsa (Nalanda), Islampur (Nalanda) and Arwal (Jahanabad), votes polled in most of our familiar strongholds reflect a chronic stagnation or even a major decline. Three of our six seats now come from districts where we do not have powerful district committees and our work is basically confined to one or two constituencies in the said districts. For the first time we have won just one seat from Bhojpur. In major districts like Patna, Bhojpur, Buxar and Siwan, there has been a serious drop in  our votes. Even in Jahanabad, where we succeeded in improving or more or less maintaining our position in Arwal, Jahanabad and Ghosi, we hit a rock bottom in the other two constituencies Kurtha and Makhdumpur.  The most alarming and rather abnormal decline, which demands a thorough probe and urgent corrective measures, has been witnessed in Paliganj constituency of rural Patna where our votes dropped from 31,000 in the last Lok Sabha election to only around 16,000.

While part of this decline in central Bihar and elsewhere could be attributed to certain organisational problems and weaknesses of relatively recent origin, basically we are faced with a combination of certain deep-seated and inter-related adverse factors like (a) diminishing vigour and vitality of the movement, (b) weak Party organisation and defunct mass organisations, (c) shortage of popular and dynamic mass leaders, (d) failure to expand our social base and win over new social forces.

We had also contested seven seats in Orissa and two seats in Haryana. In Orissa, our performance has  been pretty poor - the highest vote being less than 3,000. In Haryana, this was our first entry into electoral battle and we have just succeeded in establishing or renewing some contacts that should now be followed up for a proper beginning.

2. Post-poll Situation in Bihar

landslide victory, for NDA, we had all along predicted a hung Assembly and an impending reign of political instability. But the actual outcome had some surprise for us as well - the NDA ended up winning at least 20 seats less and conceding at least 20 seats more to the RJD. Given the delicate composition of the Assembly, the stand of the 11 MLAs of CPI(ML) and CPI assumed a great deal of significance in broader political circles. From the very beginning we waged a consistent struggle demarcating our line of independent assertion from the opportunist line of so-called neutrality and equidistance and premised our Left oppositional stance on a clear and firm anti-NDA footing.

On the issue of Governor’s invitation to Nitish Kumar, we decided to take a firm oppositional stand. We persuaded the CPI to join us in a delegation to meet the President and when the CPI did not show any interest in observing a bandh in protest against the Governor’s decision, we chose to issue a parallel bandh call for March 5.

Subsequently, on the question of Speaker’s election there was an opinion that we should put up our own candidate in a bid to derive maximum benefit from the delicate situation, but we did not find the idea advisable on an overall analysis. We also decided against abstaining from the Speaker’s election, because ensuring a clear defeat of the NDA candidate for Speaker was crucial to frustrating the NDA’s bid to usurp power. On our part we had of course expressed our disapproval for a Speaker from the Congress and indicated our preference for having some Muslim nominee from  RJD for the post.

On the eventual vote of confidence sought by Rabri Devi, we had indicated our preference for opposing it, provided there was no threat of President’s Rule. By all indications, RJD was all set to win the trust vote with a clear majority, but as the situation remained fluid, our legislature party decided to take absolutely no chances and decided to abstain, while four CPI MLAs voted against the motion. CC felt that a clear opposition to the trust vote would have been certainly preferrable and this abstention should be treated as an aberration.

On the Rajya Sabha election, Laloo tried to strike a bargain by offering us a Rajya Sabha seat with a view to diluting our independent oppositional identity and indirectly incorporating us into his network of pro-government parties. We spurned his offer and decided to stay away from the entire exercise.

The new coalition government in Bihar has assumed power with a jumbo cabinet accommodating all  Congress MLAs. This is the first time that Congress has decided to join a coalition government as a junior partner and the Congress will definitely go all out to extract its pound of flesh. Contesting independently, Congress has succeeded in winning 11% votes and 23 seats including a large number of Muslim and tribal MLAs and by participating in the government it will now try to poach further on the RJD’s base especially among the Muslims. Apart from the tension thus inherent in the Congress-RJD coalition, RJD will continue to face a hostile Centre and a determined opposition within the state. The long hand of the CBI and courts will also continue to cast a shadow of uncertainty on this government. Political instability can therefore be expected to be the order of the day in Bihar. Such a situation can only force the RJD to make more and more compromises with feudal forces in general and Congress in particular.

The present juncture thus provides us with a lot of opportunities to step up our role and raise our political profile in Bihar.  On the one hand, we have to contend with the RJD in our opposition to the NDA at the Centre, and, on the other, we also have to contend with the NDA in opposition to the RJD-Congress coalition government in the state. There can be no simple formula for combining these two aspects into one role and independence can only be asserted through vigorous mass political initiatives. While the RJD and the BJP-NDA would try to polarise Bihar politics along their respective issues, we must concentrate on advancing our own agenda.

The contending tactical lines of the Left can perhaps be demarcated most clearly in Bihar and in the given balance of forces within the Left, we stand in an advantageous position to demonstrate the superiority of our tactical line. We must accordingly raise our level of initiative on different fronts and assume the leading role in terms of both mass movements and parliamentary initiatives.  Party must pay special attention to the functioning of our individual MLAs and the legislature party as a whole.

3. NDA’s Unfolding Agenda and Growing Mass Protests

Not unexpectedly though, this time round the NDA government is trying to push through its agenda much faster and in a more comprehensive manner. If Pokhran, anti-Christian violence and eventually Kargil were the high points of the NDA’s agenda in its previous term, this time the emphasis is more on pushing through faster and harsher economic measures (drastic reduction of subsidy, rapid disinvestment and downsizing) and sending out loud signals on all strategic issues including constitutional review and the cultural agenda of Hindutva. The RSS has also begun to assert its role and agenda more vigorously.

The BJP has however also been forced to acknowledge the limits beyond which it cannot immediately stretch its mission. It had to beat a retreat on the Gujarat Circular. The party’s crisis in UP is deepening in spite of the surgical removal of Kalyan Singh. Poll results and subsequent developments in Bihar marked a strong setback to the party’s plans to capture power in Bihar. On the subsidy issue, even though the party has so far refused to adopt a soft line and roll back the hikes in administered prices, pressure has begun to mount even from within NDA. Chances of a possible reconciliation between TMC and the Congress in Bengal are reportedly also growing. Political realignment is also underway in Tamil Nadu with the TMC and AIADMK joining hands and supporting the Congress in Pondicherry. Several important states will go to Assembly polls in 2001 and the process of political realignements and public disillusionment is all set to gather increasing momentum.

Against this backdrop, the Congress is trying to step up its oppositional role, especially on RSS and other issues unrelated to the economic policies. Four former prime ministers including a rejuvenated VP Singh have also begun to take some initiatives with a view to reviving some sort of a third front. While the opportunist Left will obviously try to associate itself in its own tailist fashion with these attempts to revive some sort a United Front, we must concentrate on stepping up the Left’s independent role while not rejecting possibilities of political cooperation with non-Left anti-BJP anti-Congress forces. Let us focus on the centrality of mass agitation as opposed to the opportunist Left’s emphasis on projecting discredited and semi-retired bourgeois leaders as the leaders of yet another bourgeois-led united front.

The RSS issue and the unfolding of the Sangh’s agenda of Constitutional review and cultural censorship, the recent visit of Bill Clinton and the hikes announced in fertilizer, Kerosene, LPG and PDS prices have indeed provided major occasions for crystallization of wideranging public protests. Bill Clinton’s visit in particular has very clearly exposed the BJP’s desperate desire to establish saffron India as America’s staunchest strategic ally or client in Asia. It is significant that the last time a US president had visited India was in 1978 when again the RSS had a major stake in central power as a formidable faction within the Janata Party government of Morarji Desai. The so-called Vision 2000 statement signed by Vajpayee and Clinton is couched in diplomatic generalities and in his speeches Clinton took special care to charm India with his patronising rhetoric. Even then the visit could hardly hide US business interests in India and the US imperialist design of intervention in South Asia.  

Almost all Left, socialist and other democratic forces were active in organising anti-Clinton protests  in different parts of the country. In Andhra and Rajasthan, all Left parties including CPI(M) were involved in a joint campaign. But in Delhi, CPI(M) refused to join hands with CPI(ML) while in Left Front ruled Bengal, police rained lathis on our procession.  In Parliament, we called for boycott of Clinton’s address and eventually all Left MPs stayed away from the joint parliamentary session addressed by Clinton on March 22. We were however the only party to organise protests near Parliament on the same day and apart fropm Com. Jayanta Rongpi, only one Rajya Sabha member of RSP, among other Left MPs, joined us in the protest action. On the whole, we did play a prominent role in this protest campaign, but our mobilisation was not upto the mark and Bihar remained virtually quiet.

The National Platform of Mass Organisations held a protest rally in Delhi on March 9 and issued a call for nationwide general strike on May 11. The recent price hikes and other anti-poor measures announced in the budget have started evoking powerful protests in all corners of the country. On our part, we should give these protests the shape of a nationwide “Dam Bandho, Kaam Do” campaign (i.e., focussing on the twin issues of price rise and unemployment) culminating in the May 11 strike action. The May 11 programme should be taken up seriously and wherever possible, especially in states like Bihar and UP, we should raise it to the level of a full-fledged bandh, preferrably in cooperation with other Left forces.

The growing protest movement also provides us with greater scope for taking a whole series of political initiatives and for expanding our ties with various other Left, democratic and patriotic forces. The entire Party must gear itself up for expanding our role in the present situation of growing political turbulence and popular resentment.

4. Left Unity and Left Tactics: New Prospects

In recent months, contradictions and cracks within the CPI(M)-led Left Front have been constantly growing. For both CPI and CPI(M), the February polls in Bihar have been a major setback. Our performance in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections has been relatively better and our tactical positions have also been widely appreciated. The rupture between CPI and CPI(M) in Bihar and the CPI’s subsequent decision to move closer to CPI(ML) have had nationwide ramifications in Left circles. On the whole, the current situation has placed us in a better position to pursue our goal of Left unity.

Our exchanges with CPI, Forward Bloc and RSP have been growing. Faced with acute inner-party crisis and intra-Front bickerings, the CPI(M) too is being forced to respond or react to our positions. We should try and find more effective ways of intervening in this growing internal crisis of the CPI(M) and the Left Front from our standpoint of the revolutionary Left.

Among smaller Left groups outside the Left Front, MCPI and certain ML forces, particularly in states like Punjab and Bengal, are showing a lot of interest in forgung closer unity with us on all fronts leading up to complete organisational unification. While staying firm on our Party identity, programme and tactical line, we should suitably respond to these overtures and engage them in positive unity endeavours.

With Com. Jayanta’s victory on CPI(ML) banner, we can now also play a relatively bigger role in Parliamentary arena and make more serious attempts to develop floor cooperation and coordination with other Left forces in Parliament. We must develop a functional Parliamentary Office system to meet the challenges of Party work in this arena.

5. “Strengthen the Party” Campaign

The Central Committee has called upon the entire Party to conduct a comprehensive and sustained “Strengthen the Party ” campaign from April 22. The campaign, while addressing some of our chronic and growing weaknesses, is designed to equip the Party for the deepening political crisis and enable it to face the mounting saffron offensive as the leading core of revolutionary communists in the country. District Committees will have to play the pivotal role in running this campaign under the leadership of the CC and respective State Committees. The campaign will encompass the following key parameters and under the guidance of respective SCs, DCs will have to formulate their own tasks and set their own targets in the light of these parameters.

(i) Consolidate the Party Committee System: cultivating revolutionary style of work based on social investigation and serious study,  painstaking work, vigorous implementation of committee decisions, regular check-up and thorough accountability; firming up unity of the Party on the basis of democratic centralism and militant, scientific relationship among comrades based on criticism and self-criticism; combating liberalism, circle culture and other alien, non-proletarian trends prevailing within Party committees; etc.

(ii) Revitalise Mass Work: according the greatest emphasis to rejuvenating our rural mass work and reviving rural mass organisations, especially on the agricultural labour front; urban committees shall pay suitable attention to other mass organisations, especially student-youth front and trade unions; expansion of mass organisation membership and unleashing local initiatives; etc.

(iii) Streamline Party Propaganda: planned initiative to increase the circulation of Party organs and raise their standard and quality;

(iv) Systematise Basic Party Education: Conducting basic Party education classes/workshops to raise the average level of understanding of Party line and Marxist basics among grassroot Party activists;

(v) Regularise Party Branches: At least 60% Party membership must be organised in functional Party branches centring particularly around tasks (ii) and (iii)

(vi) Develop the Capacity of Mass Resistance: in areas marked by feudal violence and other kinds of repression, conscious efforts must be made to develop and strengthen the Party’s capacity of waging mass resistance.

Addressing these six tasks as part of an integrated campaign will pave the way for increasing the Party membership and improving its composition in terms by recruiting more working class and women members.

The DCs must inform the Party Central Committee and respective SCs about their campaign plans and targets and send their performance reports to the Centre every two months so that the CC can monitor the entire campaign with the help of the SCs.