People's Democracy

KARAT AT THE AP STATE-LEVEL CADRE MEETING

�We Will Overcome And Move Forward�

N S Arjun

�As a Communist Party, we have seen many ups and downs. There is nothing to be demoralised about the election defeat. We will overcome by regrouping, reforging our links with the basic classes, which are our mainstay. We need to remove our organisational weaknesses, build mass organisations, conduct sustained struggles on local issues and translate the support gathered from these struggles into electoral support and move forward�.

This was the message of the CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat to the extended state-level cadre meeting of the Andhra Pradesh state committee of the Party held in Hyderabad on July 2-3, 2009. The meeting took place in the backdrop of the recent general elections and the elections to the state assembly in Andhra, and was attended by 697 cadre �� all district committee members and state centre cadre. It began with hoisting of the Red flag by senior comrade S Siva Reddy. A five-member presidium was elected to conduct the proceedings of the meeting.

Prakash Karat in his elaborate address explained the review of the central committee on the recent elections. Acknowledging that these results are a serious setback for the Left parties, Karat placed before the gathering the analysis of the CC about the Congress performance in the elections. Primarily, it was neither a sweep for the Congress nor were the gains in terms of seats made across the country. The vote percentage increased slightly by 2 per cent and this increase was limited to only 8 out of the 17 big states in the country. Even in states where it improved in terms of seats, like in Maharashtra, AP etc, it lost votes but won because of split in the opposition votes.

REASONS FOR

CONGRESS WIN

However, there were some major reasons for the good showing of the Congress party. The trend seen in 2004 of rejecting the communal forces continued this time also. Particularly the people�s concern for unity in the wake of the dastardly terrorist attacks in Mumbai and other parts of the country helped the Congress. Despite the direction of the policies pursued being neo-liberal, some of the welfare measures adopted by the government like NREGS, Forest Rights Act etc � under the pressure of the Left parties � helped in counteracting the negative influence of those policies and provided some relief to the people. The main benefit of these schemes and measures accrued to the Congress rather than the Left because of the limited nature of the struggles waged by the Left.

The support extended by the Left helped give legitimacy to the UPA government and the stand taken by the Left against liberalisation of financial sector shielded the nation from the impact of the global economic crisis. There has been a shift among the minorities towards Congress because of their concern to keep the BJP away from power. Another important reason for the Congress victory has been the consolidation of the big bourgeoisie behind the Congress as they were the biggest beneficiaries of the last four years of the UPA regime.

As for the BJP, its second successive defeat is a big setback for the communal forces, felt Prakash Karat. On the one hand it extended support to Hindutva and on the other it tried to garner wider support by projecting other issues and seeking allies. However, it could not carry these two contradictory things. This, combined with its failure as the main opposition party, resulted in people rejecting the party in all states except in Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh where it increased its vote share. That the BJP did not get any worthwhile ally in states where the Left forged non-Congress and non-BJP alliance also contributed to the defeat of the BJP, underlined Karat.

ELECTORAL

TACTICAL LINE

On the tactical line evolved by the Party after the withdrawal of support to the UPA government, Karat said that it was decided to gather allies, particularly in Andhra and Tamilnadu where we have some base outside of our three strong states. As the political resolution of the Coimbatore Party Congress had underlined, our Party became the prime target of the ruling classes and the imperialists because of our effort to stall their badly needed reforms and their strategic alliance. So, knowing fully well the limitations of the bourgeoisie parties, we went for electoral alliances with them. This is not to be confused with the long term third alternative goal given by the 19th Party Congress.

The recent central committee review stated that it was a necessary effort to have a non-Congress, non-BJP electoral alternative. However, it felt that such alternative failed to be viable and credible because of many factors. The CC also unanimously felt that the decision to withdraw support to the UPA government was correct. However the Party could not mobilise people on this issue or put the Congress in the dock.

THE LEFT�S

PERFORMANCE

Although this election witnessed the worst ever performance by the CPI(M), one should not overlook the fact that its mass base remained intact and there was only a marginal fall in voting percentage. Noting that many comrades are concerned about the performance of our Party in Bengal and Kerala where we have suffered reverses, Prakash Karat said there were different reasons for this.

In Bengal, there were political, governmental and organisational reasons for the poor showing. The Party was aware that the odds would be difficult this time as all reactionary forces ranging from Trinamool, SUCI to �Maoists�, separatist Gorkha forces etc ganged up against us. These forces got support from imperialist forces. The process of sections of rural poor moving away from us during the last panchayat elections continued this time also. The many weaknesses, shortcomings at the government level in areas like irrigation, electricity, health, PDS etc identified earlier could not be overcome. The apprehension that land may be taken away aided the process of alienation of peasants. However, this alienation is not a statewide pattern and is limited only to five districts. This situation, coupled with the organisational aberrations arising out of being in power for 32 continuous years, was effectively utilised by our opponents led by the Trinamool Congress. They are trying to back up their electoral victory with the physical attacks against us in Lalgarh. Karat called for taking up a campaign movement against these attacks in Bengal at the all India level.

In Kerala, the LDF government has done a lot of good work for the people of the state but its image has been sullied by the disunity in the LDF and within the CPI(M) also. Moreover, the Christians consolidated against the Party after our government passed the Education Act to regulate private institutions.

Karat lauded the Tripura unit of the Party and the Left Front government for the excellent work done which was appreciated by the people who voted decisively in favour of our candidates. He also highlighted the substantial votes polled by our candidates in Sikar and another two constituencies in Maharashtra.

As for AP, Karat felt that the failure of the electoral alternative at the national level and the failure of four party alliance in the state are interconnected. Reminding about the many struggles, movements conducted in the state by the Party, he said there is nothing to be demoralised about this defeat. �We will overcome and will continue forward on our path�, he asserted.

Later, in the afternoon session, Karat answered various questions posed by the cadre on the election review and other issues.

ANDHRA

REVIEW

Placing before the gathering the state committee review on the elections, Party state secretary B V Raghavulu at the outset stated the tactical line adopted by the state committee was in tune with the all India tactical line and there was an interconnection between the all India factors and the state factors. Acknowledging that the Congress state unit played an important role in the UPA returning to power at the centre, he highlighted two limitations in this win. One, there was a drop of over 2 per cent votes in both the parliament and assembly elections this time when compared to 2004. Two, although the Congress improved its tally of Lok Sabha seats from last time, it has lost 29 assembly seats. However, unlike last elections, the Congress achieved this victory on its own. The factors in favour of Congress at the all India level worked at the state level also.

The CPI(M) state secretariat had assessed before the elections that there was no major anti-incumbency against the Congress state government. Although the chief minister and ministers indulged in corruption and vindictive actions, the impact of the welfare schemes implemented by the government mitigated the anger of the people. Given this situation, the CPI(M) had called for unity of all opposition parties to ensure the defeat of the Congress. With the entry of Praja Rajyam Party, this unity became difficult because they put a condition of choosing between them and the TDP. As the voting figures show, the split in opposition votes helped the Congress in a big way. Although the prior estimate was that PRP may split Congress votes more, it turned out that it took votes from TDP, TRS, Left parties much more than from Congress. The TDP lost nearly 10 per cent of vote from 2004; TRS 3 per cent; Left parties 0.75 per cent and Congress around 2 per cent. The PRP polled this 16 per cent vote, although it was not uniform across the state. The difficulties among the four party alliance partners in coming to an understanding on seat sharing, their lack of coordination and effective vote transfer �� all these adversely affected the alliance prospects. The major responsibility for this state of affairs in the alliance lies with the Telugu Desam, which dilly dallied on seat adjustments; sought to pit one ally against another; caved in to TRS pressure etc. However, despite all these weaknesses, the TDP increased its seats in the assembly from 47 to 92.  As for our Party, the understanding with the TDP has not helped the Party as the TDP has no credibility amongst the people. Further, the TDP did not work sincerely for the Party candidates and its votes were not transferred in most places.

Apart from these factors, the Congress particularly targeted the CPI(M) in the most vindictive manner and tried its best to see that CPI(M) does not have representation in the assembly. They have been on this conscious job for the last three years, particularly targeting our strongholds Khammam and Nalgonda districts. They used all tactics, including unprecedented use of money power to achieve their aim. In constituencies where our Party was contesting, they bought local level leaders of alliance partners and prevented vote transfer. The organisational problems in our strongholds became an hindrance in our electoral battle and in some cases these were used by the Congress party to defeat us.

POLITICAL

SCENARIO

CPI(M) central secretariat member V Srinivasa Rao addressed the meeting and spoke on the post-election political scenario in the state. The Congress party is politically united in the state and is consolidating around the leadership of chief minister Y S Rajashekar Reddy. The CM has a total grip on the ministry this time and is using the official machinery to strengthen the party in the state, as was evident during a recent meeting of the district collectors held in Hyderabad. The Congress is trying to wean away leaders from the opposition parties using all means. It is also consciously working to split some of our statewide mass organisations.

The TDP, although increasing its strength significantly, is still in a disappointment mode. The internal problems in the party have been exacerbated due to Congress interventions. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi is in a crisis after the elections with a section of leaders splitting away from the party and later rejoining it. The Praja Rajyam Party is in a state of flux with many leaders leaving the party in a steady stream. The Lok Satta party has been able to attract sections of the middle class with its slogan of �new politics�. It is seeking political reforms in order to better implement the economic reforms.

It is clear that the Congress governments, both at the centre and the state, are going to undertake reforms in a vigorous manner. In the name of cooperative farming, the state government is introducing corporate farming in the state. Masking its real intention, the government is seeking to prepare ground for selling mineral water in villages. In the name of weeding out bogus cards, it is engaging in drastically cutting the number of BPL cardholders in the state. The impact of the economic crisis resulted in the loss of 25,000 jobs in the IT sector in the last four months alone. With scanty rainfall, the prospects of drought loom large in the state. All these factors would lead to a situation in the coming period where people will be willing to take part in struggles. The Party has to get ready to lead such struggles at that time.

Srinivasa Rao stressed that in the meanwhile the Party must seriously undertake the task of imparting political education for the cadre, complete the rectification campaign and overcome all organisational weaknesses. He said the mass organisations must play a more pro-active role in taking up the people�s issues. They must adopt creative methods.

CPI(M) state secretariat member S Veeraiah spoke on the tasks for the Party in the coming three months. The election reviews of the central and state committees would be taken down to the Party member level through extended meetings, general bodies etc. The rectification campaign would be undertaken at all levels. A mid term review of the effort made by the Party and its mass organisations in implementing the decisions of the state conference would be undertaken. People�s issues arising out of the harmful policies of the state government would be closely monitored, studied and taken up.

A total of 48 comrades took part in the discussion held over two days, first district wise and then mass organisation wise. All of them broadly endorsed the central and state committee reviews of the elections and the understanding of the current political scenario.

Raghavulu in his reply to the discussion called upon the cadre to undertake a wide �people�s contact� programme, in which their problems must be listened to and their issues understood. The Party needs to boldly take on the Congress onslaught on it. Their conspiracies can be defeated only by being among the people. The need to work together with non-Congress, non-BJP parties on people�s issues was stressed.

The meeting adopted a resolution condemning the atrocities of Mamata-�Maoists� in Lalgarh. It praised the Left Front government for bringing the situation under control without any loss of life among the tribal people. The resolution called for a state wide campaign against these atrocities.