[Marxistindia] P.B. Communique

[news from the cpi(m)]

May 11, 2026

 

Polit Bureau Communique

 

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met on May 10-11,
2026 in New Delhi. It has issued the following statement.

 

Assembly Election Results: Assembly elections were held in five states -
Assam, Keralam, Puducherry, Tamilnadu and West Bengal in April.

 

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) suffered a serious setback in Keralam after
ten years of continuous rule. For the first time, the BJP was able to win
three seats, which poses a serious threat. The conduct of the Congress,
making baseless allegations and spreading canards against the CPI(M), along
with its soft approach towards communal forces, contributed to the growth of
the BJP in Kerala.

 

Despite the loss, the LDF was able to secure 37.6 percent of the vote,
demonstrating its support among the people. The PB thanks all LDF cadre and
sympathisers who worked hard during the elections, as well as the people of
Keralam who voted for us. The Party will be in the forefront in resisting
the growth of communal forces in the state and will protect the secular,
democratic fabric of society. It will continue to take up the issues of the
people and resist any attacks on their livelihood and democratic rights.

 

The Party has conducted a preliminary review of the results and will conduct
an in-depth review in the coming days to identify the weaknesses responsible
for this setback. The opinions of all Party members and well-wishers will be
taken into consideration during this review. Necessary course correction and
rectification will be made to strengthen the Party.

 

The victory of the BJP in West Bengal is a major blow and has been achieved
on the basis of a communal, divisive and vitriolic hate campaign, the huge
amount of money it spent, and the gross misuse of central agencies,
including the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the SIR exercise. The
BJP also benefited from the strong anti-incumbency against the corrupt and
authoritarian TMC government. Together with the re-election of the BJP in
Assam with an increased majority, we notice an ascendancy of
Hindutva-communal, right-wing forces. The BJP's alliance with the NR
Congress also won in Puducherry.

 

The BJP and its allies tried to sabotage the electoral verdict in Tamilnadu
by using the Governor's office. They tried their best to prevent the
formation of a government led by Sri C. Joseph Vijay, the leader of the TVK.
When all their attempts failed, the Governor was forced to swear him in as
the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu.

 

The CPI(M), along with the CPI and the VCK, extended support to the TVK-led
government to safeguard secular, democratic, and constitutional principles.
We congratulate the newly sworn-in government and hope that it will live up
to the expectations of the people and fulfill the promises it has made.

 

Condemn the PM's Call for Austerity: It is extremely ironic that the Prime
Minister called upon the people to implement austerity measures due to the
ongoing war in West Asia. The government has utterly failed to safeguard the
interests of the people because of its decision to completely align with the
US-Israel axis, which was responsible for the attacks on Iran (a fellow
member of BRICS) and for the present situation. The government failed to
condemn the attacks on Iran and refused to blame the US-Israel axis for the
current imbroglio. Instead of asking the people to consume less and lead an
austere life, the government should join the Global South in pressuring the
US to stop its attacks and allow free transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
If the government had some foresight and diversified its oil basket, we
would not be in the present predicament.

 

The agricultural season is going to start very shortly, and if fertilizers
are not made available to farmers on a priority basis, our food production
will be severely affected. This will have a debilitating effect on the
livelihood of our people and on the entire economy. It is the duty of the
government to immediately take steps to procure fertilizers and make them
available to farmers.

 

The Prime Minister's statement exposes the claims of the BJP-led Union
government that there is nothing to worry about the Indian economy. His
statement itself proves that all is not well with the economy. The timing of
the PM's statements also needs to be noted - they were made days after the
announcement of the election results. This has been done deliberately to
gloss over the economic reality from the people, with an eye on winning
elections on the basis of falsehoods.

 

The PB calls upon the people to be ready to resist burdens that the
government intends to impose in the name of austerity.

 

Notification of Labour Codes: The BJP-led Union Government wished to
operationalise the Labour Codes from April 1, 2026 itself, but waited until
the Assembly elections were over in four states and a union territory to
notify the rules. Within just four days after the announcement of the
results, they have now operationalised the Labour Codes. This exposes the
deceptive modus operandi of the BJP-led Union Government. The BJP-led
governments in the states are eager to implement the Labour Codes and have
prepared the state draft rules. The fact that it proceeded to notify the
rules, ignoring the mass protests of workers demanding minimum wages and
better living conditions, and opposing long working hours, exposes the
anti-working class character of the BJP.

 

The CPI(M) urges the state governments to exercise their legislative powers
under the Constitution of India, bring in corrective amendments to the
Labour Codes, and protect the interests of the workers, instead of
operationalising them as per the Central Rules that have been notified.

 

The PB reiterates its support for the workers and will stand with them in
resisting the implementation of these newly notified rules for the Labour
Codes.

 

Delimitation: The BJP-led Union Government tried to push its agenda of
changing the electoral map of the country in the name of carrying out the
delimitation exercise. It linked the Women's Reservation Bill with
delimitation and sought to win support. The opposition collectively defeated
the BJP's designs, as the proposal required a constitutional amendment and
hence a two-thirds majority. The BJP tried to project the entire opposition
as anti-women but could not succeed. Though the opposition was able to push
back the BJP's efforts this time, the danger of delimitation persists. The
way the entire exercise is proposed is intended to benefit the BJP
electorally. It is also intended to decrease the influence of southern
states, where the BJP continues to have a weak presence. This once again
demonstrates that the BJP is now effectively using State institutions to
implement its agenda.

 

The CPI(M) reiterates its demand to implement the Women's Reservation Bill
starting from the next round of elections. There is no need to link this
Bill with the delimitation exercise.

 

Impact of SIR: The SIR exercise, initiated by the Election Commission of
India (ECI) during the Bihar assembly elections, had a huge impact on the
recently concluded assembly elections in West Bengal. The ECI introduced a
new category, 'logical discrepancies', which was used to delete nearly 2.7
million names from the electoral rolls, even after these voters appealed and
furnished all appropriate documentary evidence. Various studies are
reporting the impact such deletions had on the electoral outcome. Never in
the history of independent India have electoral rolls been tampered with to
ensure the interests of a particular political party. The entire exercise
undermines the credibility of our election system. Using their cadre, who
have penetrated almost all echelons of State institutions, the RSS-BJP is
trying to achieve its objectives. The appointment of an Election Observer to
the post of advisor to the newly sworn BJP Chief Minister of Bengal is a
proof of such penetration. The ECI's role in pushing ahead with the SIR
without listening to the various parties that are critical of the process is
a clear example of this. The Supreme Court's stand on this vital issue is
extremely unfortunate.

 

Workers Protests: The past two months have witnessed some of the most
intense and spontaneous working-class protests. These protests were
primarily concentrated around the National Capital Region (NCR), though they
were also held in other states. A majority of the protesting workers are
contract workers, migrant labourers, and informal workers. Many of them are
young and recently employed. They have effectively used modern communication
channels like social media to vent their grievances and also to mobilise. In
most places, they protested spontaneously without any union to lead them.

 

The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh tried to suppress these protests and
unleashed police forces. Hundreds of workers were arrested, and many of them
are still in jail. However, the intensity of the protests and the attention
they gained throughout the country forced the government to increase minimum
wages, though the increase itself is paltry.

 

The PB demands that the concerned governments immediately withdraw all the
false cases lodged against the workers, address their grievances, increase
their minimum wages, and treat the issue as a labour dispute and not as a
law and order issue.

 

Threats to Cuba: The US has yet again announced that it will 'take over'
Cuba and has further tightened sanctions. It is threatening a military
invasion of Cuba. On May 1, it passed an order declaring mandatory secondary
sanctions against any foreign entity that operates or conducts transactions
with Cuban entities. This order is an instrument of direct coercion against
sovereign third-party States and threatens the global financial system.

 

The PB expresses its strong solidarity with Cuba and appeals to the people
of our country to join in condemning US threats; it demands the immediate
lifting of the economic blockade.

 

Foreign Policy of the Indian Government: The Indian government failed to
unequivocally condemn the US aggression against Iran. As the Chair of BRICS,
this failure is even more glaring, and India is losing its standing among
the countries of the Global South. Despite mounting US pressure on Cuba, the
Indian government is not ready to take a firm position expressing its
solidarity with Cuba. This is yet another demonstration of the BJP-led Union
government's subservient foreign policy stance.

 

CC Meeting: The Central Committee of the CPI(M) will meet from May 22-24,
2026 in Delhi and discuss in-depth the review of the assembly elections and
also the fast changing political developments.

 

 

Muralidharan

(CPI(M) Central Committee Office)

 

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