The Left has to make its presence felt across the country by increasing its independent strength, said CPI(M) legislator Rakesh Singha who won from the Theog Assembly seat in Himachal Pradesh in last year’s State elections, thus facilitating an electoral comeback for the Left there after a gap of 24 years.
Talking to The Hindu at the Government Guest House during his visit to the city to address the State meet of the Kerala School Teachers Association (KSTA) on Friday, Mr. Singha observed that increasing independent strength was not possible without taking a forthright position against neo-liberal agenda.
Asked about the possibility of opposition parties coming together to fight communal forces, he said except for a tactical understanding based on issues, an out-and-out unity was out of question. “The question of a third or Left-led front does not exist today. The tragedy is that probably the Left parties alone oppose neo-liberal policies as all the rest, including the Congress, follow a neo-liberal agenda,” said Mr. Singha.
Revival of party
He said it was too early to say whether his victory was a sign of the revival of the party though public anger, especially among the deprived sections, against the perusal of neo-liberal policies by States has created “tremendous scope” for the party across the country. The party would be able to attract the poorer sections if it adopted the understanding reached at the party plenum held in Kolkata for reorienting, changing the style of functioning, and adopting newer methods of keeping in touch with the people.
“One thing is clear. A communist has to work tremendously hard. The party cannot function like a bourgeois-landlord party. Now it depends on the party leadership and the cadre whether it is able to implement the understanding reached at the plenum,” said Mr. Singha. The trends are positive for the party even in weaker States such as Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra where it was previously unable to approach the people.
Asked about the Left’s ability to tap into its popular support among the farming community in distress, Mr. Singha said rallying and bringing together various organisations working among the peasantry on a common platform would help create confidence, thus facilitating a change in the correlations of class war.
Mr. Singha hoped that notwithstanding the exploitation of State machinery by the Bharatiya Janata Party, people would repose faith in the Left in the forthcoming Tripura elections.
