Communist Party of India (Marxist) elects M.A Baby as its new General Secretary

The 24th congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which concluded in Madurai on Sunday, elected M.A. Baby, Polit Bureau member since 2012, as its General Secretary for the next three years.

Mr. Baby, formerly the Education and Culture Minister in Kerala, is the second leader from the Kerala unit to helm the party nationally. He succeeds Sitaram Yechury who passed away on 12 September 2024.

KKE's General Secretary Koutsoumbas pays tribute to comrade Sitaram Yechury

Yechury and Koutsoumbas in 2016 in Athens

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) expressed its sadness over the death of Indian communist leader Sitaram Yechury, who passed away yesterday at the age of 72. In a letter signed by General Secretary Dimitris Koutsoumbas, the KKE praises Yechury's contribution to the international communist movement. 

More specifically, Koutsoumbas' letter which was published on "Rizospastis", stresses out:

Sitaram Yechury, Indian communist leader, dies aged 72

Sitaram Yechury, long-time General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has died at 72 following hospitalization for acute respiratory tract infection.

In a statement, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) points out:

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses its profound grief at the passing away of Comrade Sitaram Yechury, General Secretary of the Party on September 12, 2024. He died after battling a severe lung infection at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. He was aged 72 years.

India: Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, veteran Communist and former West Bengal Chief Minister, dies at 80

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, veteran Communist Party leader and former West Bengal Chief Minister, died today, 8 August, at his south Kolkata (Calcutta) residence.  

In a statement,  the Central Committee office of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) points out: 

"The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) expresses its profound grief at the passing away of Comrade Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, outstanding leader of the Party and former Chief Minister of West Bengal.  He was aged 80 years and had been in ailing health for some time. 

Communist Party of India (Marxist): Election results mark a setback for BJP and Modi

The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

The results of the 18th Lok Sabha election are a setback for the BJP. It has lost its majority in the Lok Sabha which it had got in the past two Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and 2019. This is a stinging blow to the image of invincibility built around Narendra Modi, who had boasted about winning 400 seats in this election.

Communist Party of India (Marxist): Statement on the gruesome train accident in Odisha

In a statement concerning the gruesome train crash in Odisha, which claimed the lives of at least 280 people, the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) stresses out:

"The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) expresses its deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their dear ones in this worst rail accident in recent times. The PB calls upon all concerned authorities to prevent the rise of the death toll by ensuring speedy and urgent medical attention to the injured.

Communist Party of India (Marxist): Growing assaults on people’s livelihood by Modi government

The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New Delhi on July 16. It has issued the following statement:

Growing assaults on people’s livelihood

World Bank data shows that the annual growth of the Indian economy over 2020-22 was a mere 0.8 per cent.

KKE condemns the bomb attack at CPI(M) headquarters

On June 1st, unidentified cowards attacked the Kerala state committee headquarters of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Thiruvananthapuram. Police said the explosive substance was hurled at the AKG Centre, situated in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram, by a motorbike-borne man at around 11.30 pm.

In a statement the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) strongly condemned the bomb attack and expressed confidence that “the state government will investigate thoroughly and punish the culprits. 

Sitaram Yechury re-elected as General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)

The 85-member new Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) that was elected at the 23rd Party Congress held in Kannur has chosen Sitaram Yechury as General Secretary. 

Yechury, 69, is taking over the leadership of the party for a third consecutive term. 

He succeeded Prakash Karat who has held the top post in India's largest left party from 2005 to 2015. 

The 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) kicks off in Kannur

The 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) kicked off yesterday in the city of Kannur, in Kerala.  

The Draft Political Resolution (abstract here) was introduced to the Party Congress by the General Secretary, Sitaram Yechury

As is the tradition of vigorous inner-Party democracy practised by the CPI(M), this Draft Resolution was released two months in advance and all Party members have the right to send amendments directly to the Central Committee. 4,001 amendments were received by the Central Committee, in the stipulated time. 

India: Millions of working people participated in 48-hour general strike

Another massive general strike took place in India on 28-29th March 2022, with millions of working men and women responding to the call by the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions, Independent Sectoral Federations/ Associations.

"This historic strike call was given not merely on immediate demands of the workers but against the anti-national destructive policies of Central government", reads a statement by Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU).

23rd Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist): Extracts from the Draft Political Resolution

Following a decision by the Central Committee, the 23rd Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) will take place in Kannur, Kerala, between 6 and 10 April 2022. 

 

The Party has published the Draft Political Resolution (click here for the full text) for the upcoming Congress, extracts of which you can read below:

Stop violence against communists in India!

In a statement the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) condemns the recent violent incidents unleashed against the Party premises in the state of Tripura by right-wing mobs:

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the violence unleashed in Tripura by the ruling party, the BJP, against the CPI(M) and the Left Front. 

In a pre-planned fashion, the offices of the CPI(M), including the state headquarters, were attacked by mobs of BJP men.  Among the offices which were damaged or burnt down are the Udaipur sub-divisional office, Gomati district committee office, Sepahijala district committee office, Bishalgarh sub-divisional committee office, West Tripura district committee office and the Sadar sub-divisional committee office. 

Communist Parties of India: Joint statement on the situation in Afghanistan

In face of the situation in Afghanistan, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) have issued the following joint statement: 

On Afghanistan Situation 

The United States has suffered a humiliating defeat in Afghanistan. Twenty years after the toppling of the then Taliban regime, the Taliban are back in power. The collapse of the Ashraf Ghani led government and the National Army shows the hollowness of the nature of the State set up by the US and it's NATO allies. 

India: Communist Party leader Sitaram Yechury urges PM Modi to take urgent action as Covid crisis deepens

India's healthcare system is buckling as a record surge in Covid-19 cases puts pressure on hospital beds and drains oxygen supplies. According to international reports, families are left pleading for their relatives who are desperately ill, with some patients left untreated for hours.

Crematoriums are organising mass funeral pyres. On Friday 24 April India reported 332,730 new cases of coronavirus, setting a world record for a second day running. Deaths were numbered at 2,263 in 24 hours. 

India: More than a million people attended a rally of the Communist Party (Marxist) and its allies in Kolkata

A sea of people gathered in the city of Kolkata earlier today during a massive rally organized by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and left allied forces. The rally, one of the largest political gatherings of the last years, was held at Kolkata's Brigade Parade Ground which is the city's largest open ground. 

The huge rally comes just prior to the West Bengal assembly polls, sending a strong message to both the governing BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) and TMC (All India Trinamool Congress).  

Indian communists support farmers struggle, demand the repealing of Agri Laws

In a joint statement, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), the Revolutionary Socialist Party and All India Forward Bloc express their support and solidarity to the struggle of farmers and demand the immediate repealing of Agri laws by the Modi government:

Repeal Agri Laws
Support Farmers Struggle 

Arya Rajendran: India's youngest elected mayor is a communist

Arya Rajendran, a 21 year-old member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has been elected mayor of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala.

Arya, a second year Mathematics student, is set to become the youngest person to hold a mayoral post in the country, the Hindustan Times reported. She presently serves as the state president of Balasangam, a children’s organisation affiliated to the CPI(M). 

Kerala: Communist-backed LDF alliance wins landslide victory in local body elections

As counting of votes in the local body elections in the Indian state of Kerala is inching towards the final lap, the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) has gained a clear edge in village, block, district panchayats, municipal and corporation councils. 

The LDF, which had won a majority of local bodies in 2015, is poised to either retain its existing numbers or improve its tally further.  

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that it will be a historic election and the Left Democratic Front will win seats even in areas which have not been its strongholds earlier. 

India: Communist Party member stabbed to death by right-wing criminals in Kerala

A 52-year-old activist of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was stabbed to death in Kollam district, in the Indian state of Kerala, on Monday 7 December. According to local CPI(M) leaders, the murderers belong to the nationalist, right-wing RSS paramilitary organization.

This is the fourth CPI(M) worker murdered in the state in the last four months.

CPI(M) state secretary in-charge A Vijayaraghavan said the killing was an attempt to disrupt peace ahead of polling for the first phase of today's local body elections.