THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the run up to the 22nd Party Congress in Hyderabad, the CPM is in the process of evolving a strategy to check its increasing marginalisation in urban areas especially the major cities. The CPM believes that Left and CPM have been marginalised in urban centres especially after the aggressive implementation of neo-liberal policies and advancement of RSS and BJP. It is in this backdrop that a national level workshop was held in Delhi recently to discuss the urban plan.
As a follow up measure, the politburo is expected to put in place a mechanism at the Centre exclusively for urban work. It could be a collective, a group or a fraction. Similar set-up would be implemented in states. CPM believes the RSS-affiliated organisations which already have a good network in urban centres, are trying to expand their activities. There is a conscious effort from their side to use religious festivals like Ganeshotsav, Janamashtmi to expand their political and electoral base.
The CPM is keen to intervene in such festivals the way it did during Puja celebrations in Bengal. In place of religious colour, the party intends to mobilise lakhs of people to hold cultural procession highlighting the role of prominent social reformers in each region. Similar intervention was seen in Kerala during the recent Janmashtami celebrations when cultural processions were taken out across the state. Organic farming, palliative care, environment issues like pollution, clean air and water are some of the areas on which party is banking for reorienting its urban work.
The party plans to work among pensioners association. Lakhs of pensioners live in urban centres and they have special needs like old age homes, better health care and security. The party is also exploring the possibility of setting up tax payer’s associations in cities to demand better civic facilities. The party plans to counter the communal agenda being implemented by the BJP and Sangh Parivar in the name of yoga centres. Parallel yoga festivals started by party at some places would be gradually expanded to other states.
