IN the ensuing elections to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly to be held on April 6, the CPI(M) Tamil Nadu state committee has decided to fight along with the DMK-led Secular Progressive Front. Following the discussions with the DMK, CPI(M) will contest six assembly seats. Similarly, CPI, VCK, MDMK are also contesting in six seats each.Following this agreement with the DMK, the state secretariat and the state committee of CPI(M) met and finalised the candidates for the six assembly seats as follows:1. Keelvelur (SC) – Nagai Mali2. Thiruparankundram – S K Ponnuthai3.

ON March 26, the farmers’ struggle completes four months. On that day, the SKM has given a clarion call for a Bharat bandh to support the struggle and to put the Modi-led BJP regime on the mat. The last Bharat bandh was on December 8, 2020, and it had turned out to be a massive countrywide success.STRUGGLE CALLSThe various SKM struggle calls in the month of March were well implemented not only at the Delhi borders, but also throughout the country. On March 6, to mark the completion of 100 days of the struggle, lakhs of farmers blocked the KMP highway at all the borders.

ON March 15, at the call of the Central Trade Unions and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, joint protests were held outside hundreds of railway stations against the BJP led union government’s drive for the privatisation of public sector assets, against corporatisation of agriculture through the farm laws, and against the massive rise in diesel, petrol and gas prices. These actions were held all over the country. Pamphlets detailing the harmful effects of these anti-people policies of the government, were handed out to the commuters at the railway stations.

CPI(M) had announced the names of three more candidates for the upcoming Kerala assembly elections. A list of 83 candidates was already announced by A Vijayaraghavan, CPI(M) state secretary in-charge on March 10, which was published in the last issue of People’s Democracy . Candidates for Manjeshwaram and Devikulam – V V Rameshan and A Raja – have been announced now.

CPI(M) DELHI state committee outrightly rejects the undemocratic and authoritarian takeover of Delhi administration by the BJP led central government through four amendments brought to the Government of NCT of Delhi Act 1991 through a bill slated to be placed in the Lok Sabha. The bill in the pretext of giving clarity to the Supreme Court order of July 4, 2018, and February 14, 2019, goes against its spirit as it had upheld that the lieutenant governor is bound by the ‘aid and advice of the popularly elected government.