The Communist Party of India-Marxist braces for a leadership change 10 years after Prakash Karat took over as its general secretary. Politburo member Sitaram Yechury, who is seen to be leading the pack of contenders for the top job in his party, spoke to Scroll.in ahead of its 21st congress, the highest decision-making body which is due to begin its six-day meet at Vishakhapatnam on April 14.
What will be the main focus of the upcoming party congress?
The main task is to stop the ongoing erosion of the party. We have accepted one reality that during the last 10 years the party has come down in terms of its parliamentary presence, in terms of its capacity to intervene and in terms of its membership. Electorally, we are at the historical low. In at least six of the state assemblies, where we had our presence 10 years ago, we are not a force any more. So the main challenge for the party is to stop the decline that has been going on for the last 10 years – arrest it first and then to advance. According to me, that will be the main focus of this party congress.
To regain their lost ground, different factions of Janata Parivar have decided to merge. What about the left parties? Is there any churning in the CPI-M in this regard?
At the moment, merger of the left parties is not on our agenda. We are instead giving prominence to left unity. We are trying to widen the ambit of the left front and bring together many of the left parties which have so far not been part of the left front. Earlier, this front consisted of four parties – CPI-M, Communist Party of India, Forward Bloc and Revolutionary Socialist Party. Now two new members have agreed to join us – Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist (Liberation) and Socialist Unity Centre of India. Many left parties which work at states level have also agreed to come along. For example, there are 9 parties in Andhra Pradesh and seven in West Bengal. So the process is on to consolidate all the left forces together.
The division of left parties is based on certain ideological issues. Unless these are resolved, any ideological unity of communist parties is not possible. Now to get down to discussing those issues, we need to focus on them while the situation in the country demands that there should be more left intervention. So what we are working towards is to try and unite the maximum in action on various issues.
For left parties, merger means an ideological unity. It cannot just be the unity of convenience or the electoral unity as has happened in Janata Parivar.
In 2004, Harkishan Singh Surjeet was instrumental in bringing together secular forces which together succeeded in defeating the BJP-led formation. Don’t you think the CPI-M needs a general secretary who can think and act like Surjeet?
That role of Comrade Surjeet crucially depended on the strength of the party. When he was the general secretary, we had a critical strength in parliamentary politics. We had three state governments. What has happened in 10 years is that that strength of the party has eroded. So the capacity to intervene is not really only an individual attribute; it has a great deal to do with the strength of the party.
Yes, definitely we have to bring together all the secular forces to fight against the government’ anti-people economic policies as well as the communal onslaught.
Don’t you think the Congress needs to be involved in the larger secular project of fighting against communalism?
On issues, Congress has to come. There is no doubt about it. But, remember communal forces have always grown whenever Congress has compromised with communalism. That is also the record of the Congress. But then, of course, it was the Congress which was the main player in stopping the return of (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee in 2004 and forming the secular unity that came across.
So the Congress has a role, no doubt. But the point is that the policies pursued by the Congress lay the ground for communal forces to thrive.
So to be a part of the new secular front, the Congress has to go for a policy shift. Isn’t it?
That is the billion dollar question. After all, Congress has traditionally been the main party of the ruling classes in India. So to make a shift on policy front would be a radical rupture from itself. Essentially, Congress has always been a mixed bag, and always pro-liberalisation elements have been the dominant force in the party. That continues even today whatever noises they make. Many of the pro-poor policies of UPA-I were implemented under left pressure. Whether it is National Rural Employment Guarantee Act or Right to Information Act or Right to Education Act, all these were the agenda that were forced by the Left. That is why there used to be reluctance to bring in these measures when the Congress was in power. The NREGA, for example, came into operation after four years of the UPA-I.
As long as the pro-liberal forces remain dominant in Congress, the discontent that follows will always benefit the BJP as it did in last Lok Sabha elections. Therefore, unless our strength increases nothing can be done. For that reason, we are saying: build the left and democratic front. And for that, the left unity is very important. On the basis of that our intervention would become more and more effective.
Am I talking to the next general secretary?
This is outside my purview because in our party the congress elects the new central committee and that central committee elects the general secretary and the politburo. Now we are from the old central committee. So we have no jurisdiction or locus standi to talk about what will happen after the congress or in the congress.
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What will be the main focus of the upcoming party congress?
The main task is to stop the ongoing erosion of the party. We have accepted one reality that during the last 10 years the party has come down in terms of its parliamentary presence, in terms of its capacity to intervene and in terms of its membership. Electorally, we are at the historical low. In at least six of the state assemblies, where we had our presence 10 years ago, we are not a force any more. So the main challenge for the party is to stop the decline that has been going on for the last 10 years – arrest it first and then to advance. According to me, that will be the main focus of this party congress.
To regain their lost ground, different factions of Janata Parivar have decided to merge. What about the left parties? Is there any churning in the CPI-M in this regard?
At the moment, merger of the left parties is not on our agenda. We are instead giving prominence to left unity. We are trying to widen the ambit of the left front and bring together many of the left parties which have so far not been part of the left front. Earlier, this front consisted of four parties – CPI-M, Communist Party of India, Forward Bloc and Revolutionary Socialist Party. Now two new members have agreed to join us – Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist (Liberation) and Socialist Unity Centre of India. Many left parties which work at states level have also agreed to come along. For example, there are 9 parties in Andhra Pradesh and seven in West Bengal. So the process is on to consolidate all the left forces together.
The division of left parties is based on certain ideological issues. Unless these are resolved, any ideological unity of communist parties is not possible. Now to get down to discussing those issues, we need to focus on them while the situation in the country demands that there should be more left intervention. So what we are working towards is to try and unite the maximum in action on various issues.
For left parties, merger means an ideological unity. It cannot just be the unity of convenience or the electoral unity as has happened in Janata Parivar.
In 2004, Harkishan Singh Surjeet was instrumental in bringing together secular forces which together succeeded in defeating the BJP-led formation. Don’t you think the CPI-M needs a general secretary who can think and act like Surjeet?
That role of Comrade Surjeet crucially depended on the strength of the party. When he was the general secretary, we had a critical strength in parliamentary politics. We had three state governments. What has happened in 10 years is that that strength of the party has eroded. So the capacity to intervene is not really only an individual attribute; it has a great deal to do with the strength of the party.
Yes, definitely we have to bring together all the secular forces to fight against the government’ anti-people economic policies as well as the communal onslaught.
Don’t you think the Congress needs to be involved in the larger secular project of fighting against communalism?
On issues, Congress has to come. There is no doubt about it. But, remember communal forces have always grown whenever Congress has compromised with communalism. That is also the record of the Congress. But then, of course, it was the Congress which was the main player in stopping the return of (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee in 2004 and forming the secular unity that came across.
So the Congress has a role, no doubt. But the point is that the policies pursued by the Congress lay the ground for communal forces to thrive.
So to be a part of the new secular front, the Congress has to go for a policy shift. Isn’t it?
That is the billion dollar question. After all, Congress has traditionally been the main party of the ruling classes in India. So to make a shift on policy front would be a radical rupture from itself. Essentially, Congress has always been a mixed bag, and always pro-liberalisation elements have been the dominant force in the party. That continues even today whatever noises they make. Many of the pro-poor policies of UPA-I were implemented under left pressure. Whether it is National Rural Employment Guarantee Act or Right to Information Act or Right to Education Act, all these were the agenda that were forced by the Left. That is why there used to be reluctance to bring in these measures when the Congress was in power. The NREGA, for example, came into operation after four years of the UPA-I.
As long as the pro-liberal forces remain dominant in Congress, the discontent that follows will always benefit the BJP as it did in last Lok Sabha elections. Therefore, unless our strength increases nothing can be done. For that reason, we are saying: build the left and democratic front. And for that, the left unity is very important. On the basis of that our intervention would become more and more effective.
Am I talking to the next general secretary?
This is outside my purview because in our party the congress elects the new central committee and that central committee elects the general secretary and the politburo. Now we are from the old central committee. So we have no jurisdiction or locus standi to talk about what will happen after the congress or in the congress.
