The Communist Party of India

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated CPI(M) or CPM; is a left-wing Marxist political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI(M) is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of India. The party emerged out of a split from the Communist Party of India in 1964. CPI(M) claimed to have 1,042,287 members in 2009.[2] The CPI(M) strongly advocates anti-capitalism, anti-globalization and anti-imperialist sentiments, and has always upheld the principles of Marxist philosophy. FORMATION OF THE CPI(M)

The CPI(M) was formed at the Seventh Congress of the Communist Party of India held in Calcutta from October 31 to November 7, 1964. The CPI(M) was born in the struggle against revisionism and sectarianism in the communist movement at the international and national level, in order to defend the scientific and revolutionary tenets of Marxism-Leninism and its appropriate application in the concrete Indian conditions. The CPI(M) combines the fine heritage of the anti-imperialist struggle and the revolutionary legacy of the undivided Communist Party which was founded in 1920. Over the years, the Party has emerged as the foremost Left force in the country. The Central Committee of CPI(M) held its first meeting on June 12–19, 1966.

The reason for delaying the holding of a regular CC meeting was the fact that several of the persons elected as CC members at the Calcutta Congress were jailed at the time The meeting discussed tactics for electoral alliances, and concluded that the party should seek to form a broad electoral alliances with all non-reactionary opposition parties in West Bengal (i.e. all parties except Jan Sangh and Swatantra Party). This decision was strongly criticised by the Communist Party of China, the Party of Labour of Albania, the Communist Party of New Zealand and the radicals within the party itself. The line was changed at a National Council meeting in Jullunder in October 1966, were it was decided that the party should only form alliances with selected left parties.[13] Name

CPI(M) is officially known as भारत की कम्युनिस्ट पार्टी मार्क्सवादी(Bharat ki Kamyunist Party Marksvadi) in Hindi, but it is often known as मार्क्सवादी कम्युनिस्ट पार्टी (Marksvadi Kamyunist Party, abbreviated MaKaPa) in press and media circles. This name though has a very interesting story to tell. During its initial years after the split, the party was often referred by different names such as ‘Left Communist Party’ or ‘Communist Party of India(Left)’. The party has used the name ‘Left’ because CPI people were dubbed as rightist in nature for their support to Congress-Nehru regime. During Kerala Legislative Assembly elections of 1965 the party has adopted the name ‘Communist Party of India(Marxist)’ in order to obtain its election symbol from the Election Commission of India.[10]

NAXALBARI UPRISING
At this point the party stood at crossroads. There were radical sections of the party who were wary of the increasing parliamentary focus of the party leadership, especially after the electoral victories in West Bengal and Kerala. Developments in China also affected the situation inside the party. In West Bengal two separate internal dissident tendencies emerged, which both could be identified as supporting the Chinese line.[14] In 1967 a peasant uprising broke out in Naxalbari, in northern West Bengal. The insurgency was led by hardline district-level CPI(M) leaders Charu Majumdar and Kanu Sanyal.

The hardliners within CPI(M) saw the Naxalbari uprising as the spark that would ignite the Indian revolution. The Communist Party of China hailed the Naxalbari movement, causing an abrupt break in CPI(M)-CPC relations.[15] The Naxalbari movement was violently repressed by the West Bengal government, of which CPI(M) was a major partner. Within the party, the hardliners rallied around an All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries. Following the 1968 Burdwan plenum of CPI(M) (held on April 5–12, 1968), the AICCCR separated themselves from CPI(M). This split divided the party throughout the country. But notably in West Bengal, which was the centre of the violent radicalist stream, no prominent leading figure left the party. The party and the Naxalites (as the rebels were called) were soon to get into a bloody feud.

DISMISSAL OF UNITED FRONT GOVERNEMNTS IN WB AND KERALA
In November 1967, the West Bengal United Front government was dismissed by the central government. Initially the Indian National Congress formed a minority government led by Prafulla Chandra Ghosh, but that cabinet did not last long. Following the proclamation that the United Front government had been dislodged, a 48-hour hartal was effective throughout the state. After the fall of the Ghosh cabinet, the state was put under President’s Rule. CPI(M) launched agitations against the interventions of the central government in West Bengal. The 8th Party Congress of CPI(M) was held in Cochin, Kerala, on December 23–29, 1968. On December 25, 1968, whilst the congress was held, 42 Dalits were burned alive in the Tamil village of Kilavenmani. The massacre was a retaliation from landlords after Dalit labourers had taken part in a CPI(M)-led agitation for higher wages.[18][19] The United Front government in Kerala was forced out of office in October 1969, as the CPI, RSP, KTP and Muslim League ministers resigned. E.M.S. Namboodiripad handed in his resignation on October 24.[20] A coalition government led by CPI leader C. Achutha Menon was formed, with the outside support of the Indian National Congress.

ELECTIONS IN WB AND KERALA
Fresh elections were held in West Bengal in 1969. CPI(M) contested 97 seats, and won 80. The party was now the largest in the West Bengal legislative.[21] But with the active support of CPI and the Bangla Congress, Ajoy Mukherjee was returned as Chief Minister of the state. Mukherjee resigned on March 16, 1970, after a pact had been reached between CPI, Bangla Congress and the Indian National Congress against CPI(M). CPI(M) strove to form a new government, instead but the central government put the state under President’s Rule. In Kerala fresh elections were held in 1970. CPI(M) contested 73 seats and won 29. After the election Achutha Menon formed a new ministry, including ministers from the Indian National Congress. Party organization

CPI(M) got 5.66% of votes polled in last parliamentary election (May 2004) and it had 43 MPs. It won 42.31% on an average in the 69 seats it contested. It supported the new Indian National Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, but without becoming a part of it. On 9 July 2008 it formally withdrew support from the UPA government explaining this by differences about the Indo-US nuclear deal and the IAEA Safeguards Agreement in particular.[24] In West Bengal and Tripura it participates in the Left Front. In Kerala the party is part of the Left Democratic Front. In Tamil Nadu it was part of the ruling Democratic Progressive Alliance led by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). However, it has since withdrawn support. Its members in Great Britain are in the electoral front Unity for Peace and Socialism with the Communist Party of Britain and the British domiciled sections of the Communist Party of Bangladesh and the Communist Party of Greece (KKE). It is standing 13 candidates in the London-wide list section of the London Assembly elections in May 2008.[25] POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES

The party is well known for its Anti-globalization and Anti-capitalism stance The CPI (M) explains their understanding of Socialism as a system, where the State would be led by the working class, and the economy will be guided by central planning and dominating role would be given to the socialist form of production, but other forms like collective, cooperative etc will coexist along with the market. But in the same breath it anxiously observes that in China in the last two decades there had been phenomenal growth of private sector, which “by 2005 accounted for 50 per cent of the value added in the industrial sector”.

THE STRUCTURE
1. The Politburo (PB)
2. The Central Committee (CC)
3. State Committees
4. District Committees
5. Area committees
6. Local committees
7. Branch committees

LEADERSHIP
The senior most member, V.S. Achuthanandan was removed from the Polit Bureau on July 12, 2009. The 19th congress saw the departure of the last two members of the Polit Bureau who had been on the original Polit Bureau in 1964, Harkishen Singh Surjeet and Jyoti Basu. The current general secretary of CPI(M) is Prakash Karat. The 20th party congress of CPI(M), held in Kozhikode April 04 to 09, 2012 elected a Central Committee with 95 members including 6 invitees. The Central Committee later elected a 15-member Politburo: State governments

As of 2011, CPI(M) heads the state government in Tripura. Manik Sarkar is a chief minister belonging to the party. In Tripura, the party has a majority of its own in the state assemblies, but governs together with Left Front partners. Splits and offshoots

Main article: Various Communist/Leftist Parties in India
A large number of parties have been formed as a result of splits from the CPI(M), such as Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Marxist Communist Party of India, Marxist Coordination Committee in Jharkhand, Janathipathiya Samrakshana Samithy, Communist Marxist Party and BTR-EMS-AKG Janakeeya Vedi in Kerala, Party of Democratic Socialism in West Bengal, Janganotantrik Morcha in Tripura, the Ram Pasla group in Punjab, Orissa Communist Party in Orissa, etc. ELECTIONS

In the 1977 election, the CPI(M) gained the majority in the Legislative Assembly of the State of West Bengal, defeating the Congress (I). Jyoti Basu became the chief minister of West Bengal, an office he held until his retirement in 2000. The CPI(M) held the majority in the West Bengal government continuously since 1977, which ended in 2011 election.The party also won in Tripura winning 49 of the 60 seats. It has 3 MLAs in Rajasthan assembly. In Bihar it has an alliance with CPI(ML)L and CPI, it has 1 seat in Andhra Pradesh.In Tamil Nadu it has worked for Dalit causes. Now last assembly election held in Tamil Nadu it wons 10 seats out of 12. Presidential Elections

2002 Presidential Elections
In the 2002 Presidential elections, Left Front announced Captain Lakshmi Sehgal as their Presidential Candidate. Against her was the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s Candidate A. P. J. Abdul Kalam.[36] CPIM’s Leadership has announced that in form of Captain Lakshmi, they are fielding an ‘Alternative Candidate’. They said that though it is clear that Captain Lakshmi can’t be the President of India because of the opposition of BJP led NDA and Indian National Congress to her, but through this Presidential Election Left wants to raise key national issues, and make them heard to the masses.[37] 2012 Vice-presidential election

While CPI(M) supported Pranab Mukherjee as presidential candidate, it is in favour of a non-Congress candidate for the post of the Vice-PresidenT.[43] In the last few elections, contesting on an average 15 percent of the total seats, the CPI(M) has been getting around 5-6 percent of the votes. (India follows the “first past the post” system and not proportional representation) In the 2009 elections to the Lok Sabha (lower house of the Indian Parliament) the CPI(M) won 16 seats. The Lower House of Parliament has a strength of 543. In the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) the CPI(M) has 11 members. The CPI(M) is heading one state government. The Left Front government headed by the CPI(M) was uninterruptedly in power in West Bengal since 1977 upto May 2011. In Kerala, it has been in and out of office. Currently, the Left Democratic Front headed by the CPI(M) is in oppositon. In Tripura, the CPI(M) was first elected to office in 1977. Though it lost the subsequent election due to largescale rigging, in all elections since 1988 it has been voted to office. Though uneven, the CPI(M) has representation in eight state legislative assemblies.

LATEST ISSUES
CPI(M) asks govt to restore diesel subsidy for bulk consumers CPI(M) has asked the government to restore the subsidy on diesel to bulk customers like state transport undertakings and railways in public interest, terming as “retrograde” the decision to charge market rate on the item. “I urge you to reconsider the decision. You are requested to restore the subsidy on diesel to bulk consumers like the State Transport Undertakings which will be in public interest,” party General Secretary Prakash Karat said in a recent letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

CPI(M) disapproves Centre’s ordinance on sexual violence against women. The CPI(M) castigates the ordinance issued by the Central government on the issue of sexual violence against women , on both procedural as well as substantive grounds.

Issuing a statement on Saturday, the CPM said: “When Parliament is scheduled to meet in three weeks, it is against democratic norms to issue such an ordinance.”

“The ordinance rejects the Verma Committee recommendations on issues like making rape a gender specific crime in the law, on increasing the punishment to public servants guilty of dereliction of duty, of increasing the punishment and also guaranteed compensation for victims of acid attacks and is highly selective about the other recommendations.”

| CPI(M) Condemns Killing of Indian Soldiers by Pak Troops| Condemning the brutal killing of two Indian soldiers by Pakistani troops along the Line of Control (LoC), CPI(M) said the government must seriously take up the matter with the neighbouring country.

“This has to be taken seriously and we must take it up with Pakistan because there has been a ceasefire for the last 10 years. So far, it has worked well. But there have been violations,” CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat told reporters.

CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury pays floral tribute to former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu at the party office in New Delhi on Sunday.