The 23rd party congress of the CPI(M) began in Kannur, the strongest citadel of the Left in the country, on Wednesday. The party congress is expected to fine-tune the political line of the party in the coming years. The event assumes significance as it could be a pointer to the way the national political scenario would evolve as far as the Congress-Left relationship is concerned.
The CPI(M) is expected to come up with a resolution regarding its approach towards the Congress. While the national leadership, especially Sitaram Yechury, is keen to have an alliance with the Congress, the CPI(M) unit in Kerala—the only place where the party is in power—is against anything to do with the Congress.
“It is expected that the party will finally agree to arrive at a consensus without much fuss. Defeating BJP is our prime focus,” a central committee member told THE WEEK.
The party congress is also expected to plan strategies to increase its presence nationally. “The party, which had been in power in three states, is now limited to Kerala. This is despite the fact that we have a strong presence among workers and trade unions in most of the states,” said the leader.
Political observers look at the party congress resolution with regard to its approach to Congress with curiosity. “The Communist parties, despite limited presence electorally, have the trust of all opposition parties and could act as a glue in stitching up the opposition front as they had done earlier,” said P. Surendran, a political observer. According to him, the Left had played a crucial role in the formation of the UPA-1 and also the United Front government in the late 1990s. “Left parties have a credibility that not many other parties can claim. So their role is crucial,” he added.
The four-day-long party congress is being attended by 811 delegates from 24 states.
