SIX Left parties – CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML), SUCI (Communist), RSP and  Forward Block – held a joint people’s political convention on September 7, and exhorted the electorate of Bihar to defeat the pro-feudal, communal-corporate combination led by the BJP,  to reject the opportunist alliance of JD(U), RJD, Congress combine and to strengthen the Left in the ensuing assembly polls.

SK Memorial Hall located near the Gandhi Maidan was the perfect venue to launch a frontal attack against both the bourgeois landlord formations for their utter contempt for the suffering people of Bihar, which use money and muscle power in the run-up to the elections.

The personality oriented propaganda blitz started by both formations has been challenged by the well articulated joint appeal projecting alternative trajectory of development in Bihar by the Left block.

Decorated with red banners, flags, buntings and with pro-people slogans, the convention started at 11.30 am.

With the announcement of the presidium comprising of Awadhesh Kumar, state secretary of CPI(M), Satya Narayan Sing, Kunal, Arun Singh of CPI, CPI(ML), SUCI(C), the convention started and lasted for four hours at a stretch.

Before that a group of singers and some individual comrades of different constituents of the Left block sang revolutionary songs which created the revolutionary ambience for the proceedings ahead.

A joint appeal was placed before the convention by CPI(ML) Polit Bureau member Dhirendra Jha. It was a critique of the one year rule of Modi led government at the centre and ten years rule of Nitish Kumar in Bihar. It also projected the issues that hinder the growth of Bihar and need immediate solution.

The appeal tears into the assurances made by the Modi government during the Lok Sabha election and the report card of the one year rule which failed to curb price rise, bring back black money and further criticises it for cutting allocations for all the pro-poor schemes and projects including education and health and for stoking communal passions for political polarisation to benefit the majoritarian politics. The Modi government was severely criticised for allowing the fringe Hindutva brigade to kill the progressive and rationalists like Dabholkar, Pansare and Kalaburgi and for instigating moral policing all across the country. The saffronisation of every institution of national repute poses a big challenge for the very secular foundations of our country. It noted with pride that the    Left forces are consistently fighting this menace and appealed to all the secular forces to take the rampaging communal bull by its horns. It noted with alarm that after the separation of JD(U) and BJP in Bihar, more than six hundred low intensity communal clashes have taken place as reported by the Indian Express.

Nitish Kumar was singularly blamed for the growth of the BJP in Bihar. He shelved the Bandhopadhyay Commission report on land reform and allowed the feudal forces to strengthen their grip. The agrarian crisis is the outcome of feudal land relations and lack of public investment in developing the infrastructure and providing other facilities and protecting the farmers from the vagaries of market forces.

With the feudal structure and patriarchy remaining intact, no amount of so-called empowering of dalits, mahadalits, OBCs, women will succeed, the appeal noted. The siphoning off of money meant for the poor and BPL people by politician-rich- contractor nexus in Bihar, has made all the claims regarding the GDP growth look hollow.

The “Cobra Post” operation has clearly exposed the real face of the BJP whose leaders were the mentors of dreaded Ranveer Sena. Nitish Kumar government is responsible for dissolving the Amir Das Commission which was examining the forces responsible for the many carnages of dalits and mahadalits which rocked Bihar in mid nineties.

Nitish Kumar government has shown its undemocratic nature by clamping down the many struggles launched by the contract workers, scheme and project workers with an iron hand.

The Left forces in Bihar have consistently fought for people’s cause and have led many glorious struggles of peasants, agricultural workers, unorganised workers and have remained in the forefront in highlighting the issues of discrimination faced by the dalits, madadalits, women in their day-to-day life.

Bihar has seen the alarming rise of attacks on women, rapes, molestation, and other form of physical abuse. Even teenagers and elderly women are being targeted which has made Bihar unsafe for the women folk.

The last chapter of the appeal puts forward the issues that the Left has been championing. It will mobilise the people to vote in favour of those issues and send large numbers of Left representatives to the assembly so that the coming assembly becomes the mirror of class struggles waged outside.

Sarvodaya Sharma, secretariat member of the CPI(M)  and Rambabu Kumar of CPI supported the appeal.

In his brief speech, Sarvodaya Sharma explained some important points of the appeal and exhorted the assembled leaders and cadres of the entire Left forces to take it to the people of Bihar.

While addressing the gathering, veteran leader of CPI, AB Bardhan congratulated the Left forces for joining hands for fighting against both the reactionary combinations who want to grab power in Bihar through dubious means. They have done nothing for the poor and downtrodden people of Bihar, he said.

Sitaram Yechury while lambasting the Modi led central government, said the prices of essential commodities like onion and pulses are going through the roof and the mass of the people are being deprived of their daily intake of such items.

The billionaires have grown manifold. Five lakh crores of incentives are provided every year to the big industrialists of this country while the meagre subsidies for the poor are being cut drastically. He said that the country has enough resources to make the lives of poor people better. But the neo-liberal policies pursued by the central government are responsible for the current state of affairs of the country.

He said that current political situation in Bihar is triangular, one angle is represented by communal corporate combination led by the BJP, that is ‘Dushashan’ based on divisive majoritarian agenda; second angle is represented by opportunist combination of desperate forces only to grab ‘singhasana’ and the third angle is the ‘Jana sashana’ which believes in peoples power and fights for peoples welfare.

He said Bihar’s peasants and workers will stop the onward march of the communal forces in Bihar and also give a crushing blow to the Maha gathbandhan of the JD(U), RJD  and the Congress combine and will show an alternative path to the entire country.

Depankar Bhattacharya,  general secretary of CPI(ML) described the 2015 year as an year of struggles which forced Modi government  to leave the land acquisition bill to die its natural death. He recalled the struggles launched in Bihar and severely criticised the package politics of both Modi and Nitish. He made a fervent appeal to the electorate of Bihar to give a befitting reply to both the combinations for breeding and rearing the forces like Ranveer Sena and other reactionary outfits to suppress the just aspirations of the oppressed masses of Bihar.

Chhaya Mukhar Jee of SUCI(C) spoke in favour of creating political consciousness of the working class to fight the capitalist system based on exploitation of man by man.

 Abani Roy and Debabrata Biswas of RSP and Forward Block highly praised the initiative of the Left forces in Bihar and said that the result of Bihar election will herald a new chapter in the national politics.

Two state leaders of each three major Left Parties CPI(M), CPI (ML), CPI and one each from SUCI(C), RSP Forward Block also addressed the gathering. VK  Thakur and Arun Kumar Mishra spoke on behalf of the CPI(M).

The enthusiastic participation of thousands of leaders and cadres of Left forces which had spilled over out of the hall and had filled the entire outer area, showed the commonality of purpose and the determination to fulfill the task ahead.

The representatives of electronic and the print media were present in full strength and proceedings of the convention got wide coverage in both the media.

Special panel discussions were organised and many panelists agreed that the Left block will pose an equal threat to both the combinations and the story may be different as the electioneering takes speed.

Awadhesh Kumar, state secretary of CPI(M) thanked the assembled comrades, national leaders of various Left parties on behalf of the presidium.

 Pro people Agenda as Adopted in the Joint Appeal

1.  Implementation of land reform

2. Development of agriculture

3.  Stop indiscriminate acquisition of land

4. Agriculture based industry, employment for all, livelihood and social security for all

5. Housing for all

6. Right to food for all

7. Right to education for all

8. Right to health for all

9. Sanitation and pollution free atmosphere

10. Freedom from usury

11. Cheap electricity for all

12. Connecting roads for all the dwellings and facility of public transportation

13. Necessary environment for the growth of progressive, social consciousness and cultural life

14. Equal opportunity and dignity

15. Justice for all

16. Just participation in development

17. Just participation in power structure

18. Reform in election process

19. Corruption free governance

20. Expansion and democratisation of co-operative societies

21. Development of entrepreneurship