HYDERABAD is gearing up towards hosting the 22nd Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The Party state committee and the reception committee have taken the opportunity to host the Congress in the newly formed state of Telangana to campaign extensively against the twin dangers of neo-liberalism and communalism. The Party state committee is utilising the Congress preparations to implement the direction given by the Kolkata Plenum – to build a revolutionary party with a mass line.

It is after sixteen years that Hyderabad is once again hosting the Party Congress. Many significant political developments have taken place during this period, the chief amongst them being the bifurcation of the state. The TRS government which has formed the first government in the newly formed state of Telangana has promised that the creation of a new state will automatically solve many problems. But after four years, people are realising that not only has the TRS government failed to fulfill many of its promises, but their economic condition has further worsened. As a result, discontent is growing among the people and they are looking for alternatives.

The CPI(M) is in the forefront in conducting various struggles bringing into focus the hardships faced by the people. The 4200 km long ‘Mahajana Padayatra’ undertaken non-stop for five months had tremendous impact on the people. The Party also led various struggles against the forceful displacement of peasants and land grab by the government, the most prominent among them is the Mallanna Sagar struggle. The Party also actively supported the various working class struggles that had taken place, the months long strike of ASHA workers which stood out out as one of the militant struggles waged in the recent period.

Apart from leading various struggles and conducting movements and campaigns on many other issues, the Party tried to consciously implement the decisions of the 21st Party Congress. The Party state committee took the initiative for building the Left Democratic Front, as per the directive of the 21st Congress and had contacted various other Left, democratic parties and social forces. Along with these parties and social forces, many joint struggles and campaigns were undertaken. A broad platform, T-MAS was formed and now a broad political front – the Bahujan Left Front (BLF).

The state committee decided to utilise the opportunity of hosting the Party Congress to conduct extensive campaign among the people and propagate the alternative policies proposed by us. It was decided that all our Party members, right down from the Party state secretary to the ordinary members of branches, should participate in this campaign. A plan was prepared to approach at least 25 lakh families and explain the significance of the Party Congress and also the alternatives suggested by the Party. A four-page pamphlet was prepared and distributed during the course of this door-to-door campaign. The people heard us patiently and responded positively.

The reception committee formed with BV Raghavulu, Polit Bureau member as chairperson, Tammineni Veerabhadram, state secretary as general secretary and with the leaders of all mass and class organizations, has further planned to take this campaign among the people. Contributions from the common people, both in cash and in kind are being collected. In order to prepare for the hosting of the Congress, the reception committee has formed 21 different sub-committees. All these sub-committees have already met several times and planned their activities.

The seminar sub-committee has identified 12 different issues on which nearly 80 seminars have been conducted in 60 centres throughout the state. Polit Bureau members, BV Raghavulu, Brinda Karat, Subhashini Ali and Central Committee members V Srinivasa Rao and Vijoo Krishnan have addressed some of these seminars. Day-long seminars were organised in some centres. Along with the leaders of our Party, many Left intellectuals, cultural artists and other prominent personalities from various fields of life have also come and addressed these seminars. The overarching theme of these seminars is to propose alternatives and not confine ourselves to criticism. Nine types of booklets have been published on contemporary political issues.

Two bus jathas were held for ten days, covering all the districts in the state. BV Raghavulu and Tammineni Veerabhadram flagged-off these two jathas, from Arutla and Bhuvanagiri, two historical places associated with the great Telangana Armed Peasant’s Struggle. State secretariat members and state committee members had accompanied these jathas and addressed many well attended public meetings, including roadside meetings. A troupe of Praja Natyamandali artists accompanied these jathas and gave thought provoking performances.

2-K runs were conducted in many centres throughout the state. Nearly 30 lakhs of leaflets and eight different kinds of posters were printed and distributed in 650 mandals. Wall writings are under progress in all the districts. Two different kinds of audio CDs, with songs written by eminent song writers, including the winner of the national award for the best song writer, are being used for taking forward the message of the Congress effectively among the people. A meeting with media editors was held to apprise them about the Congress and its political importance.

Reception committee has made the necessary plans to ensure that the delegates and other visiting dignitaries have no hassles. Accommodation sub-committee has already booked various centres for making the stay of the delegates pleasant. Food committee is making arrangements to ensure that the delegates get to enjoy the tastes of the city.

Decoration sub-committee is decking up the city with red flags and banners. Efforts are on to reflect the local culture while decorating the city and use as far as possible locally available material, which is also environment friendly. The venue of the Congress is RTC Kala Bhavan, which is centrally located. Artists are already on work to decorate the venue. Pandals are being erected and the entire stretch leading to the Congress is specially identified to propagate the political demands of the Party.

A special Red Shirt volunteer march is planned on April 22, the last day of the Congress. Thousands of volunteers are being trained for the march in all the districts. Large numbers of youth are identified to take part in this march.

Special attention is given for making the public meeting a success. The reception committee has planned to hold a massive public meeting as a culmination of the Congress in Parade Grounds, Hyderabad. The BJP central government sought to affect the preparations by delaying and ultimately rejecting our application, in what is a clear-cut politically motivated decision. Undeterred by these manoeuvres, the entire rank and file of the Party is completely immersed in mobilising people in large numbers. State secretary and other state secretariat members are undertaking a tour of all the districts to plan the mobilisation of people for the public rally.

Spoorthi Progressive Society is organising a ten-day Hyderabad Fest in NTR Stadium (Telangana Kala Pranganam) from April 13-22. Here, space is being provided to various budding and emerging talents in the fields of performing arts and other disciplines. Various cultural troupes, including folk artists, from different districts have already registered to perform in the cultural arena. A separate stage is being erected for performing street plays and dramas. Space is provided to screen short-films. Eminent film and theatre personalities have agreed to participate in this Fest. A state wide photography competition was conducted and the best photos selected will be displayed in a separate space. Balotsav, to bring out the talents of children is conducted under this roof.

Apart from these cultural programmes, a special exhibition to inculcate scientific and rational thinking among the people is also being organised. Science exhibits from various parts of the state are being collected for presentation. Many rational thinkers and magicians have agreed to perform, exposing the irrational and obnoxious ideas propagated by fake babas.

The Fest is also planned to include various food, cultural and commercial stalls highlighting the local specialties. Cultural teams are panning around the city taking forward the message of the Fest and inviting people to attend in large numbers.

Reception Committee and the Party state committee are striving hard to ensure the successful conduct of the 22nd Congress of the CPI(M) and looking forward to welcome the delegates.