CPI general secretary Sudhakar Reddy in his inaugural speech gave the right focus when he said that the Left needed more unity than in the past and it was time to think and discuss the reunification of the communist movement in the country. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury was equally forthcoming in his speech. Here’s a report, for Different Truths.
The call for more united action of the Left parties with a special focus on the reunification efforts of the CPI and the CPI(M) was the highlight of the 23rd congress of the CPI which began its session at Kollam in Kerala on April 26.The deliberations till now, including the speeches by the leaders of the other Left parties like the CPI(M), CPI(ML), Forward Bloc, RSP and the SUCI, give enough indications that at long last, the Left parties have taken note of the need for intensification of their united actions to defeat the onslaught of the fascist forces led by the Sangh Parivar. The focus of the addresses was on the need for unity and broadening of the platform for taking on the Narendra Modi government and the BJP in the coming period both within and outside Parliament.
The immediate boost in the unity efforts has emanated from the decision of the CPI(M) party congress last week in which the political resolution of the party was fine-tuned to facilitate the formation of a broad front of the secular and democratic forces including the Congress which will be fighting the BJP in the coming period, including the elections. There can be no immediate political alliance with the Congress but the Congress will be a part of the struggle against the BJP and the electoral strategy will be formulated taking into account the ground reality in the states. The general secretary Sitaram Yechury has got more freedom in his second term in pursuing the course of broadening the unity of the secular and left forces to defeat the BJP in the coming elections. That is the main objective and the Left parties will opt for the best possible course to take on the Sangh Parivar in the coming Lok Sabha elections in 2019.
CPI general secretary Sudhakar Reddy in his inaugural speech gave the right focus when he said that the Left needed more unity than in the past and it was time to think and discuss the reunification of the communist movement in the country. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury was equally forthcoming in his speech about the Left unity when he said that the Left parties should foster joint actions of class and mass organisations in such a manner that the masses following the Congress and other burgeoise parties are drawn to give a big boost to the movement. He did not mention specifically the need for communist unity as he had to speak within his party’s political resolution but the circumstances are gradually favouring the adoption of a concrete course of action for the facilitation of communist unity. It can start with the CPI and the CPI(M) first and then it can gradually cover the other left parties which are ideologically close.
The immediate need of both the Communist Parties leaderships is to set up a core group of the two parties to decide on the roadmap for facilitating the process of unification. The time frame can be the next three years. This means that at the next party congress of both the parties in 2021, some concrete plan of action has to be there before the delegates. In fact, during the next three years, the unity efforts will have to cover the mass organisations of both the parties at both the national level and the state level. The message of unity has to be delivered to the lowest level of the party units since for a long time, the focus was more on differences rather than the commonalities. This unity efforts between the two parties must be accompanied by the united actions with the other left parties, In short, there has to be a massive left rejuvenation in the coming three years and the unification efforts of the CPI and the CPI(M) should be the beginning of that process.
The CPI political resolution for the 23rd congress is very clear on the question of communist unity. The party says that for left unity, the unity in action of the communists is the main precondition. Split and division among the left, particularly the communists raise questions on the credentials as also identity.CPI has always stood for the reunification of the communist movement on a principled basis. But it cannot be rushed through and should be on a principled basis. It should be after discussions at all levels and by forging unity in action.
The CPI(M) in its political resolution adopted at the 22nd congress in Hyderabad has not specifically mentioned of the unification of the communist parties but it has emphasised that the CPI(M) will work to broaden and strengthen the left unity. The resolution of CPI(M) says that all left and democratic forces should be brought together on a concrete programme to conduct united struggles and joint movements through which the left and democratic front can emerge. In states, the various left and democratic forces should be rallied to form a platform around a concrete programme. As the CPI(M) sees it, at the national level, the left and democratic alternative should be projected in the political campaigns and to rally all those who can find a place in the left and democratic front.
As of now, there are not many differences between the programmes of the CPI and the CPI(M). The international communist movement scene has changed completely in the last fifty-four years since the formation of the CPI(M) out of CPI in 1964. There is no international communist centre now to dictate. All the national communist parties decide their respective political strategy based on their assessment of the national situation. In the early sixties, the Chinese Communist Party challenged the domineering role of the then Communist Party of Soviet Union and in 1963 circulated their document for parallel line in the international communist movement. That had a big impact on the Indian communists who were already divided on other issues, the assessment of the ruling class including the Congress party and Jawaharlal Nehru.Those days are past long back. The fight against the saffron forces led by the BJP is the main task of the democratic movement now and the communists have to play leading role in that fierce battle.
The unity of the two communist parties within a period of three to five years can bring about big buoyancy in the left movement and this can accelerate the process of massive left rejuvenation. In the first general elections in 1952, the CPI was the second largest party after the ruling Congress. The CPI came out of its ban only a year before the elections and got little time for preparations, but still, the Party made impressive gains and some of the prominent members won by fighting from the jails. The time has come for the Indian communists to replicate that. The fight of the broad-based secular democratic front against the BJP in the coming period can be accompanied by the efforts of the CPI and CPI(M) for unification. That will surely push the battle against the right wing extremism to a new high.
Nitya Chakraborty
©IPA Service
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