Note: The title of the article has been changed exclusively for the Proletarian Era web edition.
Elections to the four states of West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Kerala as well as to the Union Territory of Puducherry are going to be held this month. As usual, once the bell tolled for the polls, the vote-based bourgeois petty-bourgeois parties, both national as well as regional, are out in the market with their bagful of promises and proficiency in hurling invectives against the opposition, calling each other names and trying to impress upon the voters that proving others worthless ipso facto implies they are worthy of being saddled in power. And the monopoly-controlled media are playing second fiddle to such a pretentious “political” campaign with variegated opulence of ‘jumlas’ (gimmicks). All the people’s issues have been relegated to the back. All black records of past performance by the ruling parties are either consigned into oblivion or concealed under the wrap of high-sounding rhetoric.
Farce of SIR
Over and above, the Election Commission, now perceived to be a ‘caged parrot’ of the ruling BJP, has, in the name of ‘Special Intensive Revision’, been undertaking a persecutive exercise of preparing a National Citizens’ Register (NRC) whose objective is to delete names of genuine Indian citizens under fraudulent pretext that they are ‘illegal intruders’. The people of Bihar had that SIR experience of being immensely harassed and frightened. But hardly 72 names were declared to be illegal immigrants. Now in West Bengal, over 60 lakh names did not feature on the first voter list after so many hearings and verification of documents. After scrutiny of so-called adjudicated cases, 12 lakh names have been found struck off the first supplementary list of West Bengal voters on 26 March last. However, the poll body did not go on unabatedly and that too within a time-frame incalculably short for the purpose.
In Tamil Nadu, the total electorate in Tamil Nadu stand at 5.67 crore which reflects a net deletion of nearly 70 lakh names compared to the pre-SIR rolls. In Kerala, the final electoral roll published in February last showed a marginal reduction of voters from 2.77 to 2.67 crores. In Puducherry, the number of valid electorates went down from 10.21 lakhs to 9.18.
Assam, however, has been kept out of SIR on the pretext of an NRC exercise in 2018. At that time, we had shown that the very idea of publishing NRC was conceived with an ulterior motive of branding the Indian citizens belonging to the religious-linguistic minorities as “illegal infiltrators” by the chauvinist-communal-racist forces backed by the ruling bourgeoisie. In the second and final draft published on 30 July 2018; the number of exclusions was 40.07 lakhs.
Perspective of Tamil Nadu Election
Electoral politics in Tamil Nadu has practically been an example of two-party democracy since 1968 with two major Dravidian parties, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) sharing power alternatively. Normally, there have been single-party governments though, of late, beneath this successful two-party system, there exists an effective pre-poll as well as post-poll alliance strategy.
But what is the experience of the common people with either DMK or ADMK government? The colour of the ministry changed but not the hardship of the people. Right now, there is a DMK government. DMK came to power in 2021 giving 505 promises. Those included granting permanency to the contractual and temporary employees in public administration, education, health and in various schemes like ASHA, reducing the price of petrol, diesel and gas etc., and improving conditions of the peasants, to name a few. But after assuming power, all these promises went missing. Rather the house tax, water tax, electricity charge and bus fares were more than doubled, milk price was increased and distribution of pulses and other essential food items through Public Distribution System was discontinued. Agricultural lands were forcibly grabbed for building a new airport and SIPCOT projects. DMK government, following the footsteps of its predecessor ADMK government, suppressed democratic movements ruthlessly with the help of the police. All major anti-people policies of the central BJP government like New Education Policy 2020 (NEP 20), three draconian labour codes etc., have been implemented in toto. Now an article in the party’s mouthpiece, Murasoli, claimed that the party and its government’s three-pronged outreach – through the DMK organization, state government schemes, and Chief Minister MK Stalin’s direct engagements – will ensure a second term. The Congress and the CPI-CPI (M) are in alliance with the DMK while ADMK has tied up with the BJP. Now a third outfit named Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) espousing Tamil fanaticism has been floated by Vijay, the movie star turned politician, which is also projecting itself as a political challenger of DMK and an ideological resistance to the BJP. Puducherry also mirrors almost the same scenario.
Pre-Election Scenario in Kerala
In Kerala, the self-styled Marxists like the CPI (M), CPI along with their alliance partners have been in power for two consecutive terms. But the people of Kerala hardly experienced any difference between this self-proclaimed ‘leftist’ government and erstwhile Congress governments. In tandem with the other states, people of Kerala are also suffering from burning problems of price rise, unemployment, closure, retrenchment, much deterioration in healthcare system, systematic destruction of education system and so forth. The CPI (M)-led Kerala government, instead of easing life of the common people, declared ‘Ease of Doing Business’ as its policy and takes pride in receiving national awards for it twice. It merrily handed over the Vizhinjam International seaport project to the Adani House which would allow only 1% profit share to the government from 2034. The Maniyar Hydroelectric Project, commissioned in 1994 during Congress rule as the first private hydro project in the state, which should have been returned to the government after the contract period, has been given back to the Carborundum Universal Ltd for another 25 years by amending its power policy to facilitate the leasing. Kerala has been the first state government in India to frame rules for implementation of the Centre’s anti-worker Labor Codes as well as implementing the NEP 20 in toto. Through Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), the government has been borrowing funds at quite a high rate and providing financial assistance to private houses for setting up industrial projects. On the other hand, the legitimate demands of the much-distressed ASHA workers have not been accepted even after a 9-month-long movement by them.
Assam on the Eve of Election
The socio-political situation of the BJP-ruled Assam is very much surcharged with precipitated communal tension. The chief minister of the state himself is leading the hate campaign against the Muslim minorities. The communal-chauvinist forces continue to poison the mind of the common suffering Assamese-speaking people by a false propaganda that the minorities and ‘illegal infiltrators’ are responsible for all their miseries and deprivations, thereby cunningly shielding the oppressive capitalist system, the root of all evils, and its servitors. The fact is that all sections of toiling masses, irrespective of religion, language, ethnicity are equally pressed under the grinding wheel of ruthlessly exploitative capitalism. Chauvinist-communal, opposition to citizenship for any immigrant — including Hindus — and other factors stalled the large-scale rollout of the law, but rhetoric over demographic change remains the mainstay of politics. The BJP government has also exacerbated communal disharmony by changing the name of Karimganj district in Barak valley to Sribhumi against which a mass agitation has been going on. On the pretext of recovering encroached land, it is indiscriminately evicting countless poorest of the helpless poor people, who have been residing on government land for many years.
In this first Assembly poll since the 2023 delimitation of constituencies – which has displayed patterns of communal gerrymandering, reduced the impact of Muslim voters and enhanced representation for Assamese speaking people and other communities – there is now an attempt to play the reservation card to woo certain other communities belonging to the scheduled section. The AIUDF, mainly representing Bengali-speaking Muslims in lower Assam is now fighting for survival, contesting alone after exclusion from the Congress led Opposition alliance. The AGP, once the principal face of Assamese regionalism—chauvinism, is now reduced to a junior partner of the BJP-led alliance.
And the condition of the toiling masses is deteriorating with every passing day. Over 1 crore people live below the poverty line. A large portion of the population is “multidimensionally poor,” meaning they face simultaneous deprivations in health, education and standard of living. Unemployment rate tops national average. The number of registered educated job-seekers reached 21.16 lakh in 2024. Analysts note that while the so-called welfare schemes and entrepreneurship initiatives continue to make headlines in monopoly owned media, the sustained job creation in formal and industrial sectors remains unaddressed, causing long-term concerns. So, the ruling BJP is bypassing all people’s issues.
West Bengal
The TMC, usurping the credibility of Singur-Nandigram movement which glaringly exposed the anti-people pro-capitalist character of the then CPI (M) rule, came to power in 2011 with a bundle of promises. But in no time, it proved to be toeing the same anti people pro-capitalist line albeit under the garb of serving ‘Ma, Mati, Manush’ (mother, land and man). Corruption is rampant. Extortion and cut money collection is at its peak. The realty syndicates, coal and sand mafias are thumping around. A large-scale fraud over recruitment of school teachers and class IV employees involving front-ranking TMC leaders and ministers had rocked the state. Some of the heavyweight ministers landed in jail. The brutal rape and murder of a female doctor (PGT) inside the building that houses the emergency department (where patients come and go 24 hours a day) of R G Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, and the over-activism on the part of the government, police, college authorities, particularly the then principal, his nexus members and the police to hush up and tamper with the evidence to shield the culprits have awakened the conscience of everyone, not only in this state but throughout the country, even overseas. The slogan “We want justice” rent the air. But, even after one year and a half, justice remains elusive because neither the TMC nor the BJP wanted it because both of them are equally responsible for encouraging corruption, having pliant people in various important posts and abetting all their illegal and corrupt activities. Right now, both the ruling TMC and its parliamentarian opposition, the BJP are busy accusing each other of corruption, inaction, nepotism, politics of appeasement and distribution of freebies and such other charges. But fact is that both sail in the same boat of following anti-people, pro-capitalist policies.
Unsurpassed Record of Misrule by BJP Regime
During the BJP rule, wealth inequality has reached a hundred year high. The top 10% of the Indian population holds 57% of the national income, while the bottom 50% hold only 3%. Price rise has almost doubled in the last 12 years. Permanent employment has been replaced by low wage, casual and contractual jobs. Over 90% working people are engaged in the unorganized sector. In the last five years, 2.4 lakh industries have closed down, throwing lakhs out of jobs. The BJP minister admitted in the Parliament that over 4 lakh people have lost jobs in recent years. The BJP also dealt a severe blow to both the economy and people by resorting to sudden demonetization. Subsidies towards food, fertilizer and fuel are being progressively reduced. The entire agricultural sector, from input production to crop procurement, has been practically handed over to the multi-nationals much to the detriment of the interest of the peasants. 48 peasants commit suicide every day. While loans provided to 100 corporate giants, mostly from Gujarat, to the tune of Rs 16.50 lakh crore, have been waived, the budget allocation for Rural Employment Scheme is drastically reduced. The tall claim of having lifted 25 crores out of poverty is a hoax given the flawed methodology of calculation. India ranks 102nd out of 123 countries in Global Hunger Index. Over 20 crore Indians sleep on an empty-stomach every day. More than 7,000 Indians die per day due to hunger, despite India wasting food worth about $14 billion a year, according to government figures.
Lynching of minority people in the name of cow vigilantism has sullied the socio-cultural mosaic of the country. Crimes against women are soaring. Many BJP-Sangh Parivar leaders and activists are involved in rape cases. They are even felicitated by the BJP-RSS. 86 rape cases are reported every day while the number of unreported rapes would be several times more. Rajasthan, UP and MP—the three BJP-led states have reported maximum number of rape cases. With introduction of NEP-20, education is virtually on the precipice of ruination. As against desired secular scientific education, the syllabus is stuffed with material devoid of substance and totally oriented towards saffronization in the name of Indian Knowledge System. Privatization and commercialization of education is at its peak. Healthcare is in the doldrums, which was laid bare during Covid pandemic. Reckless privatization, progressive rise in cost of medicine, shortage of doctors and medical staff, unbridled corruption and non-availability of proper infrastructure have been depriving over 90% of Indians pf rudimentary healthcare.
Of late, consequent to US Israel’s war on Iran, an energy crisis round the globe has ensued. The BJP government was well aware of such an eventuality. But it took no effective measures to mitigate the oil-gas shortage well in advance. On the contrary, it has hiked the price of LPG by Rs 60. But then why should the burden be squarely passed on to the ordinary consumers, back-broken of power for self-aggrandisement, possess expertise in double-speak or switching sides in most opportunistic manner? Should the criterion of choice be who could defeat whom and just a change of regime with no change in the fundamental character of the regime? opaque Electoral Bond by the BJP government and the ruling party was the biggest beneficiary with a receipt of over Rs 6,000 crore between 2018 and 2024. The Congress received Rs 1351 crores. At Rs 17,054 crore, TMC’s bond haul exceeds the combined receipts of BJD, DMK, YSR-C, TDP, and AAP. Muscle The by spiralling prices and dipping income? When international crude price was hovering around $55-60 per barrel and Russia was also supplying oil at reduced price, the benefit was not passed on to the common people but usurped by the government by imposing higher tax and cess which fetched additional revenue reported to be over Rs 10 lakh crores. These are only a glimpse of the BJP’s “unsurpassed” record of utter misrule. And yet the BJP is soliciting votes in the five poll-bound states and notably refraining from making any reference to its dismal performance over the past 12 years.
Election Controlled by Money, Muscle, Media & Administrative Power
Our Party has been repeatedly stressing that election in India is far from being free and fair. Rather it is controlled by the money-muscle media-administrative powers. Who does not know that money virtually flies during the election—not just for meeting cost of campaigning but also for distributing bribes and doles to the poor hapless voters. Where does the money come from? It comes from the coffers of the monopolists whom the BJP and other vote-based parties subserve to. Just have a glance at the bare facts.
According to the report of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), between FY 2004 05 and 2013-14, when the Congress was in power, it declared an income of Rs 33,888 crore while the earning of the BJP was Rs 23,022 crore. The CPI(M) declared Rs 7,691 crore. In the decade after 2014, the picture changed. The BJP’s income in FY 2014-15 to 2023-24 reaches Rs 1,90,070 crore — 65.10% of all national party income— while that of the Congress plummeted to 18.44%. And CPI(M), a party which ran governments in Kerala, Bengal, and Tripura, for a considerable period, declared its income to be Rs13,386 crore.
Further, the BJP received Rs 66,076 crore in direct corporate donations — 84.65% of the total across national parties — and Rs 27,615 crore through electoral trusts (71.67%). The Congress collected Rs 517.39 crore in 2024–25, through electoral trusts and direct sources. The CPI(M) received Rs 361 crore directly and Rs 2 crore via trusts over a decade as corporate donation.
Then was introduced most opaque Electoral Bond by the BJP government and the ruling party was the biggest beneficiary with a receipt of over Rs 6,000 crore between 2018 and 2024. The Congress received Rs 1351 crores. At Rs 17,054 crore, TMC’s bond haul exceeds the combined receipts of BJD, DMK, YSR-C, TDP, and AAP.
Muscle
The overlordism of the criminals and anti-socials are glaringly visible during poll time as they want to be under the umbrella of this or that ruling party for being licensed to do anything they want and then protected from the punitive machinery.
Media
The monopoly-controlled media give maximum coverage to the anti-people pro-capitalist parties and create a halo that the electoral battles are confined within two bourgeois parties or alliances and persuade the people to select between those two. In Assam, it is BJP vs Congress-led alliance, in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, it is DMK-Congress-CPI (M) vs ADMK-BJP, in Kerala, it is the CPI (M)-led LDF vs Congress-led UDF whereas in West Bengal, the contest is projected between the TMC and the BJP.
And as we indicated above, the administration used by the ruling party to the extent possible. The BJP is now using the Election Commission, the investigating agencies like CBI and ED, and other government machineries to manipulate result in its favour. On the other hand, the TMC, CPI (M) and DMK are trying to harness state administrative machinery in their favour.
People’s Task
So, when the suffering people stand in queue for voting, how would they decide their choice? Would they rally behind the same parties whose rule, instead of mitigating their hardship has only exacerbated it? Or would they try to understand politics, sharpen their ability to decide between right and wrong? Should they be swayed by the media propaganda, carried away by the lure of lucre and freebies and be duped once more? Would they lend their support to the forces who are boasting of setting up temples or mosques or statues, calculatedly precipitating communal casteist-ethnic divides, setting up one community against the other, engineering fratricidal feuds and bloodbaths, unabashedly renege on their pre-poll promises and use their seat of power for self-aggrandizement, possess expertise in double-speak or switching sides in most opportunistic manner? Should the criterion of choice be who could defeat whom and just a change of regime with no change in the fundamental character of the regime?
Or should the electorates examine which party has been by their side, developing mass and class struggles on various burning issues on a sustained basis, steadfastly following a higher ideology, higher ethical-cultural moral standard, to whom gaining power by hook or by crook is not the driving force? Or the representatives of which party would uphold people’s voice, voice of extra-parliamentary movements inside the house clearly and fearlessly? What should be the yardstick of choice? One example might help in arriving at the correct decision. When the nominees of SUCI (C) were elected to the parliament as well as West Bengal assembly, they staunchly opposed astronomical hike in the perks and salaries of the legislatures. None else opposed. Then the SUCI (C) MPs and MLAs distributed the augmented portion of the salary among people in the form of holding medical camps or giving scholarships to the meritorious students without any distinction. When for all other parties, elections are for gaining pelf and power, in lieu of blood-letting in protest movements, to nakedly favour the savage capitalist interests – people know this fact from experience – it is the SUCI (C) that never ceases to organize mass and class struggles.
So, our fervent appeal is to make the SUCI (C) candidates, who are inspired by the illumining teachings of Marxism-Leninism Shibdas Ghosh Thought, victorious and let the victory be of the people and not the servitors of ruling capitalism in its most ruthlessly oppressive phase.
We conclude by recalling the words of Comrade Shibdas Ghosh, founder of the SUCI(C) and an outstanding Marxist thinker of the era:“…outwardly there appear to be many opposing forces in politics, and the press projects so many contending forces, but viewing the situation from the context of ultimate struggle…, only two contending forces are there in politics — one for revolution, the other opposing revolution — in whatever nomenclature might posed….politics of it be opposing revolution has paved the road to usher in fascism”(SW Vol III).
