PRIME Minister Narendra Modi’s famed and favourite ‘development’ agenda has taken a back seat in Gujarat as the state heads for a crucial assembly election that may determine the course of India’s political discourse for the next few years.

 Despite shouting from roof tops about ‘development’ continuing to be its main agenda, the ruling BJP and its chief campaigner Modi are keeping no stone unturned to deploy the age-old deadly concoction of casteism and communal polarisation to win the elections.

THE All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has demanded the formation of a judicial commission to examine the recent hunger deaths in Jharkhand. On November 10, an AIKS delegation, led by P Krishnaprasad, visited Karimati Village in Simdega where 11-year-old Santoshi Kumari died due to starvation on September 28.

THE last two weeks saw a series of impressive programmes in Thane-Palghar district of Maharashtra. They began with a district Party class at the Comrade Godavari Shamrao Parulekar Bhavan at Talasari on October 30-31, 2017. This was attended by 415 leading comrades from eight tehsils. They included state, district, tehsil and local committee members of the Party, unit secretaries and elected Party members in the zilla parishad, panchayat samitis, municipal council and sarpanches/upasarpanches of gram panchayats.

LEFT parties, including the CPI(M) and CPI, held a protest demonstration against demonetisation in Hyderabad on November 8. When leaders and workers of the Left parties took out a rally from Babu Jagjivan Ram’s statue at Basheerbagh x roads to Nehru’s statue at Abids, the police arrested them.  Leaders of the Left parties criticised that in the background of demonetisation, introduction of goods and services tax and other developments, the country’s economy deteriorated further.

MARKING the conclusion of centenary celebrations of the October Revolution, a meeting was organised by the CPI(M) on November 7 at MB Bhavan in Hyderabad. State secretariat member of the Party, T Jyothi hoisted the Red Flag. Addressing the meeting held on the occasion, G Nagayya, state secretariat member of the Party, lauded the October Revolution as a beacon light which had given inspiration to peoples in several countries to conduct class struggles for achieving the lofty ideals of well-being of humanity and ensuring equal opportunities to the people.