CPI(M)’s West Bengal state secretary Mohammad Salim speaks to Atri Mitra about the initiatives that the party is planning to take in the run-up to the 2026 Assembly polls in a bid to revive its electoral fortunes in a state it had ruled over for three decades.
Excerpts:
You have been elected as the CPI (M) state secretary for a second time but electorally, the party is stuck at zero. What will be your roadmap?
The conference elects the leadership and electorate elects the representatives. So when I became Secretary in 2022, by that time, already in the Lok Sabha and Assembly election, the CPM had this debacle in the election. And from 2022 onwards till date, we are on the path of recovery, revival and our priority is to rejuvenate the party… And the revival of the Left ecosystem.
After the Trinamool Congress (TMC) came to power the RSS and BJP has been growing with the help of the RSS network and they sought to decimate the Left. The whole Left ecosystem, in which the Left movement grew and they got their representation in the Parliament, Assembly, Panchayat and Lok Sabha and many other municipalities, that ecosystem was targeted in attempts to estroy it. And in many aspects, it was destroyed.
You know, culture, education, educational and democratic institutions, society, rural Bengal, and in the urban areas, mohallas, colonies, clubs, sports organisations everywhere, the democratic aspirations of people and now it is the whole democratic institutions that have been destroyed. No sports organisation, no cultural position, no cooperative, no school, college, madrasa committee are getting elected.
So our purpose is not just the revival of the party, but the revival of democratic spaces too.
You are taking some hard decisions, such as hiring professionals, making election management professional. Do you think these will help give results in a Communist party-like structure?
Newer challenges require newer approaches. In the West Bengal political sphere, we have challenges which were never before, particularly attacks from the BJP and TMC, coupled with binary politics. Thirdly, the use of immense financial, muscular and media power, ranging from local fraudulent cheat funds to corporate entities, international agencies, funding agencies.
So we have to appreciate that we are fighting these odds, but we have not left the ground. “Amra herechhi, kintu shore jaini (We have lost, but not we’re still in the contest).”
Our revival strategy is centered around an approach that integrates creativity, cutting-edge technology, knowledge-driven insights, and data-based decision-making. And we are optimistic that by implementing this within our organisation, we will achieve transformative
results.
Attracting and promoting the newer generation, particularly girls, women, and younger people, requires a multifaceted approach. Our strategy involves mobilising not just the party, but also uniting various groups and supporters who share our vision. You have seen this during the R G Kar protest movement, when the entire Left Front came together to drive change. And beyond that, I think many supporters who were earlier supporting the Left got disheartened, they were also mobilised. So in that case, we are certain that our newer approach, broad-based political understanding and target-specific strategy will result.
You are also rolling out a cadre development programme, named Sitaram Yechuri Cadre Development Programme. Are you looking to adopt a 70s, 80s-style Communist Party’s approach of cadre development or is it a newer process to grow cadre?
For the first time, I am sharing this with you. Many people did not know this process, which we started immediately after the death of two of our leaders – Sitaram Yerchury and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. There are a total of five projects. We have already launched five projects. This is nothing new. The CPI(M) and worldwide, the Communist Party are cadre-based. Our baseline is our cadres and we have to recruit, train, retain and develop them, promote them. So it’s not only CPIM but even those cadres who are working among the masses, and it is through the mass and class organizations that we have selected one batch. Then this will be batch after batch. The first batch we have already trained. This is nothing new.
In the 60s, 70s, 80s, we trained how to reach out to people, talk to them, find out their issues, and mobilise them at the grassroots. By this ground level mobilisation will take place. And then, it will be tracking their performance also. Based on that, they will also deploy, re-deploy and promote.
Recently, some Left leaders in Kerala claimed that they do not consider the BJP-led government at the Centre as a fascist regime. What is your view?
The CPI(M) is one party, not Kerala party, Bengal party or Delhi party. And the CPI(M) outright rejects this view. Whoever said that… I don’t know. I don’t think any of our leaders in Kerala will say that because of the political understanding of the CPI(M).
Since 2014-15, we have been saying that as a party, the BJP is not a factor as it (BJP) is guided by, trained by and directed by the programmes of the RSS, which is a fascist organisation. The RSS has a fascist agenda and they want to make India into a fascist state.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPIM is the only party in the country with a clear programme that addresses the dangers posed by fascist organisations, particularly the RSS-BJP.
According to the CPI(M), the RSS-BJP’s agenda is a threat to India’s Constitution, and their pursuit of power is characterised by neo-fascist tendencies.
What is the focus of the 2026 Assembly election for you? Are you ready to align with the Congress or only a bigger Left alliance?
At present, we are concentrating on strengthening our independent strength. Then consolidation of the Left and then in the third stage when the issue comes all those anti-BJP, anti-TMC forces, individuals, parties, groups, they are sought to be mobilised. So it depends on those individuals, parties and organizations as long as they remain committed against BJP and TMC and ready to fight with us shoulder to shoulder. All are welcome.