New Delhi: As the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) prepares for its 24th party congress in Madurai on April 1, the leadership remains focused on regaining the party’s strength. The 23rd congress in Kannur had centred on strategies to rebuild the party’s independent base, but the CPM acknowledges that these efforts have not yielded remarkable results.

A draft political review document for the Madurai Congress notes that several resolutions from the previous party congress in Kannur were not effectively implemented. It also confirms that serious discussions on reclaiming the party’s strength will be a key agenda in Madurai.

Declining mass base remains a concern
The document recalls the 2002 Hyderabad Party Congress' assessment that the CPM’s mass base had stagnated. With a further erosion of support in West Bengal and Tripura, the party now faces an intensified crisis and decline has become a general trend, the draft review noted.

Key reflections in the document include:

  • The party has not effectively shaped or catalysed class and mass struggles over the past three years.
  • Parliamentary obsession has affected the party’s fundamental character.
  • The Kannur Party Congress’ call to counter Hindutva communal forces remained limited to routine campaigns.
  • A resolution to form unions for rural workers, taken at the Kannur Congress, was not implemented.
  • There is an urgent need to establish a unified front of rural farmers, agricultural labourers, and marginalised sections.

Identity politics emerges as a challenge in Kerala
The document also warns that identity-based politics, which contributed to the CPM’s decline in West Bengal and Tripura, is now posing a similar challenge in Kerala. This concern is expected to be a major point of discussion at the upcoming congress.