a) Though we have more than 10.58 lakh Party Members (after the 20th Congress) throughout the country we failed to expand our strength except in three states ie, West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura since the formation of the CPI(M) in 1964. What are the drawbacks/lapses of the Party? b) In the recent state assembly election in five states, except Kerala, the poor electoral performance in other states are very much unsatisfactory which needs proper review and thorough examination before Lok Sabha election in 2019. What is your view on the matter? Gopal Krishna Seal, Kolkata a) This is an issue which has been dealt with comprehensively in our Party documents which were adopted at the 21st Congress of the Party and the subsequent Plenum on Organisation. We would request you to read the Review of the Political-Tactical Line adopted at the 21st Congress and the Report and Resolution on Organisation adopted at the Plenum. Both these documents are available in the website of the Party http://www.cpim.org. b) It is true that the results of the assembly elections held recently have been disappointing for the Party except in Kerala. In West Bengal, as you are aware there was an abnormal situation due to the TMC violence and terror tactics directed against the CPI(M) and the Left Front over the past five years. After the assembly elections, the Party is taking the necessary political and organisational measures to forge links with the people who are still alienated from us, to strengthen the Party organisation and to take up the issues and problems of the different sections of the working people and to conduct united movements and struggles. Immediately, the Party and the Left Front have to face the widespread attacks on Party cadres and supporters and do everything to defend them and resist these attacks by forging the widest unity. The poor performance of the Party in Assam and Tamilnadu have been reviewed by the state committees concerned and the Central Committee. It is important to note that in both these states the Party adopted electoral tactics which were different from those pursued in the past. In Tamilnadu, the CPI(M) had decided not to have an understanding with either the AIADMK or the DMK. Similarly in Assam too, we have given up the idea of having any electoral understanding with parties like the AGP. According to the review conducted earlier in the Party Congress, our independent strength has declined because of the continuous association with the regional bourgeois parties. In these elections we have broken from the past practice. The Party has not been able to gain any seats given the weak strength of the Party. It is only by building the independent strength of the Party and rallying the Left and democratic forces for class and mass struggles that we can advance. And this will be reflected in the electoral arena too. The organisational weakness and shortcomings that exist in these states have to be overcome by implementing the decisions of the Plenum on Organisation which has emphasised on adopting a mass line.