In this Issue
In Lieu of Editorial
CPI(ML)’s Statement on Parliamentary Polls
(Issued on March 9 2009, New Delhi)
Say No to Pro-Rich, Pro-US Parties and Policies –
Resist Assault on Land and Livelihood, Democracy and Secularism –
Vote for Self-Reliance, People’s Welfare and Democratic Rights
In the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, CPI(ML) will contest 80 seats in 16 states and three Union Territories. In elections to Orissa and Andhra Pradesh Assemblies, the Party will contest around 20 seats each. Of the 80 seats identified by the CPI(ML), 20 are reserved for SC/ST candidates. These apart, the Party will also put up dalit and adivasi or tea community candidates in a dozen general seats. Nearly 60 per cent (47 out of 80) of the party’s candidates will be in the Hindi-speaking states. Bihar, UP and Jharkhand will account for half of the seats being contested by the party.
Nationally, the Party’s election campaign will be directed primarily against both the Congress-led UPA and the BJP-led NDA. Five years ago, the UPA had come to power in the name of the aam aadmi, but its tenure will be remembered only for its reckless pursuit of pro-corporate pro-US policies that have left the country reeling under all-round economic crisis and growing vulnerability to terrorism. The CPI(ML) will therefore appeal to the electorate to give a crushing rebuff to the UPA in the coming election much like the blow delivered to the NDA in the 2004 elections. The party’s poll campaign will also expose and oppose non-UPA non-NDA dispensations that pursue anti-people policies and attack democracy, e.g., the CPI(M)-led regimes in West Bengal and Kerala, and the BSP in UP.
The expanding policy consensus among all ruling parties has rendered India’s parliamentary democracy devoid of any effective opposition. The 14th Lok Sabha would be remembered for the growing rupture between the concerns of the people and the pro-corporate and anti-democratic convergence of parties cutting across coalitions. In 2005 the SEZ Act was passed without a single vote in protest; only the other day POTA was effectively rehabilitated in another name without any opposition. The CPI(ML) will seek support from the people to challenge this convergence and play the role of a fighting Left opposition, as a bold and committed voice of people’s concerns and people’s struggles within parliament.
In Bihar, the CPI and CPI(M) have entered into a seat-sharing arrangement with the CPI(ML) and together the three parties will field candidates in 33 of Bihar’s 40 seats. The party has also decided to support a few select communist candidates in Jharkhand, UP and Andhra Pradesh. The party welcomes the split between the BJD and BJP in Orissa, but will not soften its opposition to the Naveen Patnaik government which has turned Orissa into a laboratory for corporate plunder, communal violence and state-sponsored pauperisation and displacement of tribal people and other sections of toiling masses.
Reclaiming the Communist Ground in Madhubani
Madhubani is among one of the most prominent District in the annals of Communist movement in Bihar. Left movement under the CPI had a very strong presence here which gradually was lost due to CPI’s decline after it aligned with RJD. Encouragingly, the communist forces have amalgamated once again under the CPI(ML) and was made evident with a huge Communist Reawakening Rally in Madhubani on 24th February, 2009. Thousands of men, women, workers and poor came for the rally which started from the railway station and covering main streets of the town culminated in a public meeting in Town Club Field, which was addressed by CPI(ML) General Secretary Com. Dipankar Bhattacharya and Party’s Mithilanchal incharge and Central Committee member (CCM) Com. Dhirendra Jha. Com. Dipankar in his speech said that if 250 years old Monarchy in neighbouring Nepal could be finished then doing away with UPA and NDA was also very much possible. Com. Dhirendra Jha said CPI(ML)’s evergrowing stature in Bihar’s Left movement has made it clear that CPI(ML)’s path is the only reliable path for the Left to capture political power in the State. The meeting was also addressed by Comrades Neyaz Ahmad, Lakshman Rai, Uttim Paswan, Yognath mandal, Shailendra Yadav Seemanchal and Abhyanand Jha and Com. HL Karn presented the political resolution which was passed by the assembly. Com. Dipankar also released a biography of veteran communist leader Com. Bhogendra Jha written by Dr. Nityanand Jha. The meeting remembered and paid tributes to the martyrs of communist movement.
8th March Programmes
International women's day was observed by AIPWA in different districts in West Bengal in different ways with great enthusiasm. District conferences of AIPWA were organised in Siliguri (Darjeeling district; along with a procession) and Kolkata, Howrah; while in Asansol procession was followed by an activists' meet. Processions were also held in Krishnanagar (Nadia district) and Naihati (North 24 Parganas) while a mass meeting was organised in Goswami-Malipara in Hoogli District. An activists' meet was also organised in Buz Buz (South 24 Parganas). Most of these events saw a good mobilisation of working women. In view of the approaching Lok Sabha elections, most of these were held at central places in the constituencies where the party has put up candidates. Together with the demands like equal pay for equal work, proper and expanded implementation of NREGA and the like, the people were called upon to vote for revolutionary left candidates.
At Patna, AIPWA held a March asserting women’s agenda in the forthcoming Parliamentary polls, as well as Block-level marches all over Bihar. At Siwan, AIPWA held a protest March and road blockade against an incident of rape and murder.
In UP, too, AIPWA commemorated 8 March in many districts.
In Jharkhand, AIPWA’s Campaign for Women’s Right to Employment culminated on 8 March, with district-level programmes all over the state, in which women unorganised workers, para-health workers, construction workers, Anganbadi workers, mid-day meal workers etc, participated in large numbers.
In Andhra Pradesh, AIPWA held its Krishna district Conference at Nuziveedu with 150 delegates, and also held rallies at 3 places in East Godavari district.
On 7 and 8 March, AIPWA held district conferences at Madurai and Namakkal in TN respectively. At Madurai, where more than 150 delegates took part, Com.Saroja was elected President and Com. Divya as Secretary, while at Namakkal, 40 delegates took part and Com. Thenmozhi was elected President and Com. Saraswati as Secretary.
In Assam, AIPWA rallies were held at Tinsukia, Jorhat, Nagaon, and Sonitpur, and a seminar at Dibrugarh, on the theme of Women’s marginalisation in Parliament and the betrayal of 33% reservation for women. At all these programmes, between 200-300 women took part, and at Guwahati and Tezpur, AIPWA observed Women’s Day along with AIDWA and NFIW.
In Karbi Anglong, a Rally asserting women’s agenda in Parliamentary polls was held at Diphu on 8 March, addressed by AIPWA National Secretary Kanaklata Datta and CPI(ML) CCM Dr. Jayanta Rongpi. On the same evening, the Karbi Toiling Women’s Association held its Conference, electing Kaleng Inglengpi as President and Leena Hansepi as Secretary. On 9 March, KNCA held its State Conference, re-electing Kajek Thatipi as President and Pratima Engheepi as Secretary.
Shramik-Krishak Adhikar Yatra from Singur to Dunlop organized by the West Bengal State Committee of CPI(ML)Liberation started on 21st February from Ghori More of Chuchura in Hooghly district. The yatra was flagged off by Com. Partho Ghosh, State Secretary, CPI(ML). Also present were comrades Kartick Pal, PB member, Prabir Halder, District Secretary, Chaitali Sen of AIPWA, Tapan Batyobal who was at the forefront of the anti-land acquisition movement of Singur, Nitish Rai and Babuni Majumdar of Gana Sanskriti Parishad, Jul Mukherjee of AISA, Dipankar Sengupta of RYA and district party activists. Com. Ghosh demanded that the Tatas must be forced to pay compensation for having damaged the fertile agricultural land of Singur and that a referendum should be held to decide what should be done with the acquired land at Singur. He demanded exemplary punishment for the killers of Tapasi Malik. The Shramik-Krishak Adhikar Yatra is aimed at strengthening the struggle against curbing of rights of the working class by the CPI(M) led ruling coalition of West Bengal.
On the first day of the yatra, two vehicles started from Chuchura and went via Chandannagore to Bhadreshwar- Baidyabati industrial estate. The yatra then proceeded to Alinagar where the people are engaged in a struggle for affordable fertilizers, fair wages and 100 days of work. The yatra then proceeded towards Singur. At Bajemelia village, comrades Kartick Pal, Sajal Adhikary and Tapan Batobyal met the family members of Tapasi Malik. After that the yatra went to Dadpur and Makalpur. On 22nd February, the second day of the yatra, the yatra went to Parsa via Shivaichandi, where the team was greeted by some people who have left the Trinamool Congress and joined CPI(ML). At Belmuri, the team was welcomed by the striking employees of Parag Beverages. Public meetings were held at many places until the yatra reached its last leg at Dunlop where a large mass meeting was held at 7 in the evening, where the speakers spoke of the collusion of Trinamool and CPI(M) alike with industrialists like Pavan Ruia.
Chhatisgarh: Implement Court Verdict on Wages
A joint group of representatives from the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) and Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha met H.E. the Governor of Chhattisgarh Shri Narasimhan at Raipur on 4th March and presented a memorandum to him. The memorandum raised the demand for payment of wages according to the decision of the Labour Court to 1000 workers of Kedia Keshan Dhelan, Kumhari and 26 workers of Yugbodh, Kumhari.The memorandum expressed deep resentment at the non-compliance with the verdict of the court. H. E. the Governor heard the petition of the representatives with attention and assured them that appropriate action would be taken. The representation included Brijendra Tiwari, Bhimrao Bagde, A. G. Qureshi, Punaram Sahu, Tulsi Devdas and Mansharam Sahu.
LIST OF CPI(ML) CANDIDATES
Andaman & Nicobar Islands
1 Andaman NKP Nair
Andhra Pradesh
2 Anantpur K Gayathri
3 Kakinada Bangar Raju
Assam
4 Autonomous Dist. (ST) Jayanta Rongpi
5 Dibrugarh Gangaram Kol
6 Lakhimpur Debnath Hansda
7 Tezpur Rubul Sarma
Bihar
8 Araria Kamli Devi
9 Arrah Arun Singh
10 Buxar Sudama Prasad
11 Darbhanga Satyanarayan Mukhia
12 Gaya (SC) Niranjan Kumar
13 Gopalganj (SC) Satyadev Ram
14 Jahanabad Mahanand
15 Jhanjharpur Yognath Mandal
16 Karakat Rajaram Singh
17 Katihar Mahbub Alam
18 Maharajganj Satyendra Sahni
19 Muzaffarpur Jitendra Yadav
20 Nalanda Shashi Yadav
21 Pataliputra Rameshwar Prasad
22 Patna Sahib Ram Narayan Rai
23 Purnia Madhavi Sarkar
24 Samastipur (SC) Jeevachh Paswan
25 Sasaram (SC) Dukhi Ram
26 Siwan Amarnath Yadav
27 Valmiki Nagar Virendra Gupta
Delhi
28 North West Delhi (SC) Mathura Paswan
Gujarat
29 Sabarkantha Dasarath Singhali
30 Valsad (ST) Laxmanbhai Varia
Haryana
31 Sonipat to be announced later
Jharkhand
32 Chatra to be announced later
33 Dumka (ST) Bitiya Manjhi
34 Godda Geeta Mandal
35 Kodarma to be announced later
36 Lohardaga (ST) to be announced later
37 Palamu (SC) Sushma Mehta
38 Singhbhum (ST) Prem Singh Mundri
Karnataka
39 Davanagere E Ramappa
40 Koppal J Bharadwaj
Kerala
41 Alathur (SC) Gopalakrishnan
42 Pathanamthitta O P Kunjupillai
Orissa
43 Kendrapara Ram krishna Das
44 Koraput (ST) Meghnath Sabar
45 Puri Khitish Biswal
Puducherry
46 Puducherry S Balasubramanian
Punjab
47 Bathinda Bhagwant Singh Samao
48 Sangrur Tarsem Jodhan
Rajasthan
49 Chittorgarh Karulal Meena
50 Jhunjhunu Phoolchand Dhewa
51 Udaipur (ST) Gautamlal Meena
Tamilnadu
52 Mayiladuthurai Gunasekaran
53 Sriperumbudur K BharatHi
54 Tiruchirapalli Asai Thambi
55 Tirunelveli T SankaraPandian
56 Vilupuram (SC) M Venkatesan
Tripura
57 Tripura East (ST) Phalguni Tripura
58 Tripura West Partha Karmakar
UP
59 Ambedkar Nagar Balmukund Dhuria
60 Chandauli Shyam Behari Singh
61 Dhaurahra Arjun Lal
62 Ghazipur Ishwari Prasad Kushwaha
63 Gorakhpur Rajesh Sahni
64 Jalaun (SC) Kashi Ram
65 Kheri Ramdaras
66 Mirzapur Shankar Kol
67 Pilibhit Krishna Adhikari
68 Robertsganj (SC) Jitendra Kol
69 Salempur Sriram Chaudhury
70 Sitapur Gaya Prasad
Uttarakhand
71 Almora (SC) Sushma Gangolia
72 Garhwal Indresh Maikhuri
73 Nainital - US Nagar Bahadur Singh Jangi
West Bengal
74 Bankura Sudhir Murmu
75 Bardhaman Purba Piyush Sahana
76 Barrackpur Subrata Sengupta
77 Darjeeling Abhijit Majumdar
78 Hooghly Sajal Adhikari
79 Krishnanagar Subimal Sengupta
80 Raiganj Sulaiman Hafizi
CPI(ML) Candidates for the Assembly Elections in Andhra Pradesh
1. Mudhol Balapur Gangadhar
2. Aswaraopeta[ST] Regula Veeraswamy
3. Palasa Maddela Rama Rao
4. Madugula Vanthangi Perayya
5. Tuni Batchala Viplav Kumar
6. Polavaram (ST) Gangaraju
8. Kakinada city Kakara Ratna Kumari
9. Kakinada rural Tekumuri China Rajulu
10. Prathipadu Yegupati Arjuna Rao
11. Pithapuram Pilla Chandram
12. Jaggampeta Karnakula Ramalingeswara Rao
13. Thiruvuru Mesupamu Prabhakar
14. Nuziveedu Chatla Babu Rao
15. Singanmala D.Ramurthy
16. Ananthapuram town C.K.V. Siva Reddy
17. Rapthadu T.S. Vali
18. KUrnool Karakuri Sivasankar
19. Nandikotkuru[SC] N. Nagendrudu
In addition to the above CPI(ML) is supporting an independent candidate in Peddapuram of East Godavari district.
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