Aftermath of Lok Sabha elections and our tasks

The 16th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Ghadar Party of India, convened on May 23-24, 2009, assessed the participation of our party in the Lok Sabha elections, the outcome and the challenges ahead.

The 16th plenum of the CC of CGPI congratulated all members of the Party for their enthusiasm and initiative, and the discipline with which the plan of the Party has been implemented.  This was the plan to use the electoral field to elevate the consciousness of the toilers, by boldly extending the reach of the political agenda of the worker-peasant alliance.  It was the plan to defeat the efforts of the capitalists and their parties to lower the level of political debate and mass consciousness.

The plenum noted with satisfaction that lakhs of copies of the Party manifesto, and those of individual people's candidates that we supported, have been distributed in numerous languages of the people.  Hundreds of meetings have been held to discuss and clarify the communist program.

The Central Committee expressed great joy at the fact that the party's Manifesto released in the context of these elections found enthusiastic approval from the working masses.

The main campaign messages of the Party were that capitalism cannot be provided with a human face. It cannot be made 'inclusive'.  The needs of the toiling majority cannot be fulfilled as long as the bourgeoisie is in power. If workers and peasants want their claims to be fulfilled, then they themselves have to become the rulers. They have to establish a new state power that would defend their rule, and pave the way for socialism. The plenum observed that these messages resonated with the people's own experience. The slogan "Workers, peasants, women and youth – We constitute India, we are her masters" became the rallying call of this electoral campaign.

The plenum noted with satisfaction that the working masses eagerly engaged our activists in discussing the party's proposals to build the alternative to capitalism and to the current model of democracy. People from all walks of life enthusiastically agreed that we must build and bring to power a united front of all those resisting the greedy offensive of the exploiters. In public meetings, in impromptu street corner gatherings, as well as in individual interactions, our comrades were repeatedly encouraged by people saying we are on the correct course.  Many agreed that the need of the hour is a revolutionary worker-peasant government, which would take steps to halt the capitalist offensive, renew the system of democracy, and reorient the economy to provide for all.

The plenum applauded the creative campaigning techniques adopted by the party comrades in all the regions, with bands of enthusiastic young volunteers going from house to house, one residential colony to another, village to village, from one market place to another, in the different constituencies.  The plenum noted that these methods of work of our Party rely on the human factor and not on money power, and this made a deep impact on the people.

The fact that the candidates supported by our Party were experienced fighters from the working class, who live amongst the toilers and share weal and woe with them, made a profound impression on the masses of working people. It stood in striking contrast to the method adopted by most other parties for selecting candidates, behind the backs of the people and with monetary and caste calculations. 

The self confidence exuded by worker candidates, their breadth and depth of understanding and knowledge of issues impressed the people. This includes knowledge about the contemporary world reality, history, political theory and the concrete conditions of India. Many people openly came forward to applaud our comrades during the campaign.  They expressed support by offering a cup of tea or something to eat.  They even fought against those who tried to sabotage our campaign.

The plenum further noted with satisfaction that many new alliances have been made in the course of these elections, with numerous groups and organizations of workers, peasants, women and youth, who are also fighting the capitalist onslaught. The non-sectarian and principled approach of the Party, displayed in numerous struggles through the years, has paved the way for building these alliances.     

The 16th plenum noted with satisfaction that many of the principles enunciated by the progressive forces, led by the party, has gained ground with several other parties and groups contesting the elections. This includes the principle that the right to select candidates belongs to the people, and hence it must not be done without their consent.

The plenum noted that thousands of votes polled by the party supported candidates in these elections, reflects the striving among working people for a real alternative to capitalism and the rule of the bourgeoisie. It shows the advance of the party's work to strengthen political unity against capitalism, imperialism, state terrorism, and war hysteria.  It stands as a concrete testimony to the deep inroads that the Party has made among the toiling masses.

The plenum noted that the support for our Party is not the result of only this election campaign.  It is the result of the untiring work undertaken by the activists of our party on a regular basis, to provide leadership in the difficult task of building organs of people's power  in mohallas and places of work, in schools and colleges, in cities and villages.  This is the source of the respect we have gained among the people.

The 16th Plenum noted that the Congress Party has come back to power at the head of a coalition with fewer partners. The Indian and international bourgeoisie have hailed this as the best possible result, claiming that this will bring stability.  The Congress Party promises "more rapid and inclusive growth". It promises a "middle path" that will allegedly satisfy the greed of big capitalists as well as the basic needs of the toiling masses.  Past experience shows this is impossible. Rapid capitalist growth will expand the wealth and global positions of the monopoly houses, while intensifying the insecurity and poverty facing the toiling majority.  The Congress Party also promises to beef up the armed forces and repressive organs in the name of providing security.  This reflects the bourgeoisie's plan to crack down on people's opposition to the capitalist-imperialist agenda, in the name of putting down terrorism, naxalism and insurgency in the Northeast.

The plenum noted that the Third Front has collapsed, and the parties that promoted it have lost ground, including the CPI(M) and CPI. It reiterated our Party's long held view that this line of third front is a roadblock to the development of the class struggle.  The notion of a joint front with some sections of the bourgeoisie, in the name of "democratic and secular forces", is a diversion from building the revolutionary united front against capitalism, with the worker-peasant alliance as its backbone. Governments formed by such third fronts have always served to lead the workers and peasants astray, and to preserve the rule of the bourgeoisie. The plenum reiterated that there are only two kinds of fronts possible – one led by the bourgeoisie and the other led by the working class. There is nothing in between.  Those who create such illusions in the name of communism actually bring disgrace to the cause of the working class; they serve as a prop to the rule of the bourgeoisie.

The plenum reaffirmed the need to carry out vigorous ideological and polemical struggle against all forms of conciliation with the bourgeoisie, all illusions about capitalism and capitalist democracy, and all distortions of the theory and practice of communism, in order to restore the unity of Indian communists.

The plenum emphasized that reaching out to the masses in campaign mode is not something to be done just before elections. It must be continued and stepped up after the elections in all areas.  A new brand of worker-peasant politicians must be groomed, who by their work should act as real tribunes of the working masses.

The plenum emphasized the urgent task of strengthening the organisational form of the united front of toiling masses against capitalism and the bourgeoisie. Such a front has to be built with mass membership, with the aim of capturing political power and implementing the alternative program. It must expose every manoeuvre of the bourgeois government, while elaborating the pro-active program of the alternative worker-peasant government.

In conclusion, the Plenum clarified that the blossoming of fearless people's candidates and youthful campaign leaders is the result of the hard work of preparing and conducting communist schools all over the country. Such schools have served to educate the youthful cadres and supporters of the party in communist politics and all aspects of the class struggle. This work has helped the party in grooming able spokespersons for the cause of democratic renewal, socialism and communism on Indian soil.

The plenum called on all the organizations of the Party to work with redoubled energy to educate the working class and win over its best sons and daughters to the cause of communism. It called on all communists to build and strengthen basic organizations as schools of class struggle and communist theory. It called on all party organizations to redouble efforts to build and consolidate the mass organizations of workers, peasants, women and youth.

Only by pursuing our mission with this outlook and by implementing it in a scientific, thoughtful, timely and non-sectarian manner, can we intensify the class struggle and prepare to defeat the bourgeoisie. This is the exciting challenge in front of the party and all Indian communists.  It is this plan that the Central Committee of CGPI vowed to implement at its 16th plenum in May 2009.