People's Democracy

RAJASTHAN

CPI(M)�s Voice Reaches Far-off Villages

Hazari Lal Sharma

OUT of the 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan, Sikar was one seat upon which was the attention of all the secular, democratic and Left forces in the country concentrated. Nay, it was widely expected that the CPI(M)�s sitting MLA, Amra Ram, would represent this constituency in the 15th Lok Sabha. He is a senior leader of the CPI(M) in the state, vice president of the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and its state unit�s president also. The whole constituency was reverberating with pro-CPI(M) slogans and thousands of dedicated party workers were active day and night, making contacts with the people. It was a triangular contest between Mahadev Singh of the Congress, Subhash Mahariya of the BJP and Amra Ram of the CPI(M).

VIGOROUS CPI(M)

POLL CAMPAIGN

When, on April 17, 2009, Amra Ram filed his nomination papers for the contest, thousands of party workers from all the eight assembly segments comprising this Lok Sabha constituency and senior leaders of the party and the mass organisations accompanied him. CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury led the whole procession at the district headquarters. The CPI(M)�s state secretary, Vasudev Sharma, stayed in the constituency throughout the poll process to guide the party�s election campaign.

During the campaign, district party leaders and workers constantly highlighted the points made in the party�s election manifesto, the alternative policies it has been advocating and the struggles it has fought in the state in the last five years to press for these policies. They said if the CPI(M) candidate got elected, he would raise the people�s issues in Lok Sabha --- to bring a canal and the broad gauge railway line to the district, to get industries opened, and on other issues. The CPI(M)�s cadres also highlighted the party�s role in getting the NREGA, the Tribal rights Act and other pro-people measures pushed through. It was on these grounds that the cadres made an appeal to each and every voter for �a vote and a note� for the party.

Apart from the CPI(M) Central Committee, financial help came from a number of mass organisations also --- from within the district and from outside, e g from Bengal, Assam and Gujarat. Many comrades from Nagaur, Jaipur, Jhunjhunu and other places stayed in Sikar for weeks together, so as to contribute to the party�s poll campaign. Valuable support in various forms came from the neighbouring Haryana also.

Former member of parliament Ms Sarla Maheshwari, AIDWA president Ms Subhashini Ali, AIAWU leader Hannan Mollah and others addressed rallies in Sikar, Lakshmangarh, Khandela, Neem ka Thana and other places, giving a boost to the party�s election campaign. The state committee office effectively functioned as the nerve centre of the whole campaign and gave it an extremely systematic character.

OBNOXIOUS

GANG-UP

The result of all this was the creation of an atmosphere in favour of the CPI(M) candidate whose image is of a fighting, easily accessible and simple leader. While Amra Ram has represented Danta Ramgarh seat in the assembly, the CPI(M)�s Pema Ram has represented the Dhod seat. Both these assembly segments fall in the Sikar Lok Sabha constituency.

This situation frightened the Congress as well as the BJP candidate who feared that if Amra Ram could win this Sikar seat once, it would be extremely difficult for them to defeat him in future. At the same time, people of the whole area were seething with excessive anger against Subhash Mahariya of the BJP as he had done precious little for the people when he was a member of parliament. There was also inner-party feud in the BJP as Mahariya, while an MP, had cornered most of the assembly tickets in the district for his cronies, and was instrumental in the defeat of official BJP candidates in several assembly seats. For these reasons, the RSS lobby in the BJP was in search of a candidate who could be supported in order to get Mahariya defeated.

At the same time, the CPI(M)�s powerful campaign against communalism was having its impact upon the people who were eager to ensure that the BJP was defeated in Sikar. On the other hand, Mahadev Singh of the Congress was a candidate in Khandela but was defeated in the assembly polls in November 2008.

However, a number of BJP leaders including former MLAs like Harlal Singh Kharra, Prem Singh Bajor, Ramlal and Ms Rajkumari Sharma toured the villages of Sikar Lok Sabha seat and openly asked the voters to vote for the Congress candidate in order to get the CPI(M) candidate defeated. Several leaders of the Congress and the BJP toured the area in the same vehicles, which was tantamount to misleading the people. It was thus that the CPI(M) candidate was prevented from reaching the parliament --- a result to which the low voting percentage because of a number of marriages on the polling day (May 7) also contributed. The party�s organisational weakness in a part of the constituency was yet another contributory factor.

While the Congress candidate much benefited from the large-scale anti-BJP resentment, he also propagated that he, belonging to Khandela, was a local candidate.     

CPI(M)�S

PERFORMANCE

While the number of voters in the whole constituency was 14,99,101, only 7,25,751 (i e 48.31 per cent) came out to cast their vote. This was less than the voting percentage in the 2008 assembly polls.

The table below gives the polling figures according to the assembly segments. A comparison of these data with those in the 2008 assembly polls would reveal that the CPI(M)�s influence has grown in Dhod assembly segment; its vote share here has increased from 36.20 per cent in November 2008 to 41.04 per cent now. But it decreased in Danta Ramgarh --- from 36.83 to 29 per cent. The share went up in Lakshmangarh (from 22.06 to 23.68 per cent) but came down in Sikar (from 18.76 to 16.30), Khandela (16.47 to 13.57) and Shri Madhopur (14.61 to 13.04). The party received 19.40 per cent of the votes in Chaumu and 13.46 per cent in Neem ka Thana while it is organisationally weak in both these areas. The absolute figures for both the areas were higher than the votes received in November 1998 polls.

One of the main weaknesses of the CPI(M) was that in Danta Ramgarh, the party�s booth committees could not be activated as they were in November 2008. At the same time, despite all efforts, the party and the mass organisations have not yet been able to form their branches and committees in all parts of the district.

But a positive fact is that the party has received votes in as many as 1,593 booths. It has also been noted that, if we leave the party�s areas of influence including Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh, it received more votes in Rajasthan than in any other Indian state. Whether in Lakshmangarh or in Sikar, in Khandela or any other assembly segment, its votes have increased in every town or municipal area.

WEAKNESSES

IDENTIFIED

This is not to say that the party can afford any complacency. While deciding to intensify its work in the fields of organisation, struggle and political ideological education, the CPI(M) has identified certain weaknesses, which are given below.

(1) The party could not activate its booth committees except in the Dhod assembly segment.  

(2) We failed to tell to the people about the effects of the positive steps the earlier UPA government had had to take under the pressure of the Left parties.

(3) With the paucity of resources, we could not ensure that voters come to the polling booths in good numbers.

It is true that the cadres of the party were shocked over the recent setback, but they are not despondent or demoralised. The state unit of the party has chalked out a programme of work in the coming days, and meetings in various assembly segments were organised in order to take the party�s views to the people. For example, workers� meetings were held in Neem ka Thana (on June 5), Lakshmangarh (June 8), Shri Madhopur (June 9), Dhod (June 10), Sikar (June 13), and in Danta Ramgarh, Khandela and Chaumu on June 14. State CPI(M) secretary Vasudev Sharma, Amra Ram, Pema Ram and other state level leaders addressed these meetings. The party has also started preparing for the three-tier panchayati raj polls that are to take place next year.   

A programme for the political ideological education of the cadres and for an increase in the sale of the party papers has also been chalked out.

The district level review of the poll results, while expressing gratitude to the voters in Sikar, also noted that the people of the country did not accept the idea of a third front and that our adversaries used the money power and muscle power on a large scale. It noted that in Sikar we received the dalit and minority votes in proportion to our work among these sections. Similarly, those who participated in the struggles led by us, have voted for us. This shows that out tactic was correct. But there was laxity on our part in implementing this tactic. The review therefore concluded with the idea that we have to intensify and streamline our work in regard to education, struggle and organisation. 

                                                                                                                                       Postal Ballets = 142