Left-wing parties are looking to improve their parliamentary numbers. CPI General Secretary D raja I talked to DH’s shemin joy About elections and current political scenario.
The Indian left is at a crossroads. In 2019, you saw your electoral performance drop to historic lows. How important is this Sabah election to you?
There are two aspects. First, it is important that the left remains a force to be reckoned with. It is important that the left plays an active role in shaping national policy and mobilizing citizens to fight for their rights. Second, unless the left remains strong, it will be difficult to contain the country’s rising right-wing forces. We must not forget that the decline of the left helped the right to emerge as a powerful force in India. Other secular democratic parties also need to understand this. The left is the only uncompromising force against the right-wing communal fascist political forces. The left will therefore need to strengthen its power in parliament. We need to have a good presence in Congress. In the last Diet session, there were only five members. He has two names each in the CPI of Tamil Nadu and his CPI(M) and one in the CPI(M) of Kerala. Now we have to see that number go up even more. It will give confidence not only to the left movement but also to other democratic forces.
But even though you are on the front lines fighting for your rights, people are not voting for you. Why don’t people feel an overwhelming need to get more leftists into Congress?
It is true that both the vote share and the number of votes have declined. This is a serious issue and left-wing parties need to discuss it. We are in the middle of an election right now. Once the elections are over, left-wing parties will have to sit down and have a serious discussion. The left will need to understand how to operate in parliamentary democracies and how to mobilize people within parliamentary democratic systems. Therefore, there are many ideological, political and organizational issues. All these issues need to be discussed within each party and also among the left.
So does this mean that the rise of the right-wing forces has influenced the decline of the left?
Place it like this. The decline of the left has favored the right because that is why Narendra Modi himself called communism dangerous. He even calls the Congress manifesto left-wing. He named the left, and that’s exactly what the influence of the left is. The left’s ideological influence continues, troubling right-wing forces because it is the left that will ultimately rise. Mr. Modi believes that through central institutions he can target individual leaders and political parties, intimidate them, and cripple them. But it will be difficult for them to confront the left.
But how do you convince people?
People know that the left is against the right. You should take people with you, but that’s the problem. We have to convince people to come forward and vote for us. However, one good thing about this election was that the Constitution became a central pillar of the campaign.
You mention that Prime Minister Modi has branded the Congress manifesto as left-wing. Does that mean Mr. Modi understands the relevance of the left?
Prime Minister Modi expects the left to be the main and ultimate enemy of the right. In the short term, he fears the ideological influence of the left, but in the long term he is concerned about the left because stronger leftists and people’s movements will actually challenge them. .
PM Modi may say so, but do you think there is enough of the Congress manifesto left?
There is some influence as Left parties played a role in formulating the Common Minimum Program during the UPA-I period. It had measures like MGNREGA, RTI, Right to Education, Right to Food. All these issues were taken up by the left, and we all know that. When all this is said and done, what will the left say? We say that fighting the right wing, fighting dictatorships, fighting fascist forces is one thing, but at the same time it is important to fight for people’s means of livelihood. When we say this, what we mean is that people should have access to education, health care, employment, housing, and food. It is the Constitution that speaks about the right to live with dignity and how to guarantee it. Here, the left is taking a more active stance and showing its fighting strength. The left’s positions are well known and influence all political parties.
Do the secular democratic spheres understand the relevance of the left you are talking about? Are they cooperative?
Whatever the outcome, Congress will have to seriously reflect. The Congress was intolerant not only of the Left but also of other secular parties. As a result, some states have had issues with seat sharing.
Mr. Modi’s campaign rhetoric took a dramatic turn in the second phase. How do you think the election will proceed given Prime Minister Modi’s recent claims?
He is hopeless because people are not ready to accept everything he says. That’s why he’s saying it. He was talking about 400+, 370, ‘Modi ki guarantee’ etc. What happened? Each person has their own experience of suffering. The policies pursued by the Modi government have proven to be a huge failure. Prime Minister Modi is nervous now. Not only him, but other leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party are also desperate, which is why they are making speeches pitting one community against another. He is giving a joint speech. A prime minister should speak out loud about his vision for India, but PM Modi has stooped to such a low level. He should talk about his vision for governance, how to solve rising prices and unemployment. He’s not debating these things, he’s just stirring things up to distract the entire campaign. He always relies on rhetoric and drama.
Are you saying that Modi’s plays and speeches are a result of desperation? So what do you expect from the opposition bloc?
The people will vote for a change of government. That’s what we all want. We look forward to a new government that will uphold the Constitution, uphold the Constitution, and maintain our democratic institutions after the election. I am convinced that the left will continue to play an ideological political role in shaping policy.
issued May 4, 2024, 03:31 IST
