THE 24th Karnataka State Conference of the CPI(M) was held from December 29-31, 2024, with the slogan “Towards Harmonious, Integral, and Prosperous Karnataka” at the Star Convention Hall, Tumkur. The conference issued a clarion call to build a Left and democratic alternative to challenge the bipolar polity between the Congress and the NDA, into which Karnataka has slipped, with the JD(S) joining the BJP-led NDA.

On the morning of December 29, a big, colourful procession was held from Freedom Square to Town Hall. BV Raghavulu, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member, flagged off the procession, which saw the participation of thousands of workers, peasants, agricultural workers, women, youth and students from across the state. Children dressed as historic figures and freedom fighters were part of the procession. Slogans and songs inspired by the writings of Pampa, Basavanna, Kuvempu, and Che enlivened the march.

A public meeting was held at Town Hall, presided over by Prof. Dorairaju, chairman of the Reception Committee. CPI(M) Polit Bureau members MA Baby and Vijayaraghavan addressed the gathering.

MA Baby highlighted that the CPI(M) has demonstrated what a Red Flag party can achieve for downtrodden communities like dalits, which no other party has accomplished. He referred to the untiring, persistent struggle over a decade to uphold the rights and dignity of dalits, culminating in the historic Marakumbi verdict delivered by the Gangavathy Sessions judge. The verdict convicted 98 people for the massive attack on dalits and the burning of their houses, sentencing all to life imprisonment. The gruesome incident, which occurred a decade ago, was followed by a social and economic boycott, intimidation, and even the murder of the main witness. Only through sustained protests, resistance, and legal assistance by CPI(M) and AIAWU units could such a landmark verdict be achieved, Baby emphasized.

He also pointed out that despite the BJP’s “400-par” slogan falling short and the party losing its single party majority in the Lok Sabha elections, their plan to install a fascistic, Manuvadi Hindu Rashtra still remains and they continue to disrupt the unity of people by fomenting communal hatred and riots, as recently evidenced in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh.

Under Modi’s rule, poverty has been increasing. In contrast, the Kerala LDF Government, led by the CPI(M), is planning to end extreme poverty in the state by November 1, 2025, despite severe fiscal constraints and the union government’s non-cooperation. Baby called for the strengthening of the CPI(M) in Karnataka to bring about similar progressive changes in the state.

Vijayaraghavan, addressing the public meeting, said that the reality is quite different from the image projected by the NDA government, which tries to present India as being on the path to becoming the third-largest economy in the world. In reality, India is a republic of hunger, with the majority of the population being poor, hungry, malnourished, landless, and downtrodden dalits who are victims of some of the worst atrocities in the world. This government has failed to address the basic problems of the people on all fronts. The BJP is focused only on benefiting five families – Adanis, Ambanis, Tatas, Birlas, and Mittals. If they ask for a glass of water, they are given a potful. A quarter of the ports and cement factories, one-fifth of the airports, and even the national airline have been handed over to them.

Syed Mujeeb, state secretariat member, made the introductory remarks. U Basavaraj, CPI(M) state secretary and Central Committee member, K Neela, secretariat member, and Prof. Dorairaju, chairman of the Reception Committee, also spoke. Subramanya welcomed the gathering, and B Umesh proposed the vote of thanks.

A veteran freedom fighter and communist, T R Revanna, was felicitated by Vijayraghavan on the occasion. Six books were also released by M A Baby.

The conference venue, Star Convention Centre, was named Buddhadeb Bhattacharya Nagar, and the dais was named Sitaram Yechury Vedike. The auditorium was named after V P Kulkarni, and the main entrance was named after Bhimshi Kaladagi, both veteran state leaders who passed away recently.

DELEGATE SESSION

B V Raghavulu inaugurated the delegate session. In his inaugural address, he focused on the debate surrounding the Constitution. He elaborated on the Party’s views on the five basic values of the Constitution – democracy, secularism, social justice, federalism, and socialism – and highlighted the threats to these values in the current context. He stressed that future political developments will depend on how these threats are addressed. For example, although democracy under the present Constitution is essentially a bourgeois democracy, its destruction means an assault on the democratic rights of dalits, peasants, and workers, including their right to unionise, protect their jobs, and negotiate working conditions such as wages. He emphasized that the drive toward ‘One Nation, One Election’ is an effort to establish a one-person, one-party dictatorship, which must be confronted to defend democracy.

U Basavaraj presented the political-organisational report for discussion. The report outlined major political developments in the state, such as the defeat of the corrupt and divisive BJP government, the installation of the Congress government, the opportunistic alliance of the BJP and JD(S), and the setback to Congress in the Lok Sabha elections. It highlighted the attacks on federalism, specifically in the context of Karnataka, and the Congress government's failure to tackle the communal onslaught of the BJP-RSS, curb corruption in administration, and adopt alternative policies to address pressing problems of the people.

The report noted the Congress state government’s eagerness to follow neoliberal policies, such as extending PPP (Public-Private Partnership) to more aspects of public services, large-scale state takeovers of land from peasants in the name of industrialisation and development, and gifting these lands to corporates while denying land rights to farmers and tillers. The report also highlighted the interventions of the CPI(M) and its class/mass organisations in defending the interests of working people. The report analysed organisational weaknesses, which have prevented the Party from achieving the expected growth and the desired quality of political intervention.

Sixty-five delegates representing various districts, class and mass fronts, as well as tribal, dalit, and social platforms, and specialised units participated in the discussion on the political-organisational report. After the state secretary’s reply to the discussions, the report was adopted unanimously.

Thirty-two resolutions were adopted during the conference, covering a wide range of issues, including the following: the land question (defending the land rights of cultivating peasants, allotting land to the landless and for housing, and opposing forcible land acquisition); extension of the Employment Guarantee Scheme to urban areas; withdrawal of the Draft Sugarcane Control (Amendments) Act and raising the sugarcane price to Rs 5,500 per ton; financial grants for Hampi Kannada University; legal guarantee for MSP (Minimum Support Price) for agricultural crops; opposition to extending the working hours of IT/ITeS workers to 14 hours; preventing the misuse of the Construction Workers Welfare Fund; opposing the imposition of Hindi; converting the ICDS scheme into a permanent programme and ensuring nutritious food and pre-primary education as rights for children and mothers; advocating for a pro-people education policy; and recognising the right to work as a fundamental right.

The birth centenary of Niranjana was commemorated with a resolution and the release of two books, including selections from his writings. Niranjana, famous for his novel Chirasmarane based on the Kayyur peasant struggle of the 1940s, was a prominent Kannada writer, a driving force behind the Progressive Literary Movement of the 1940s in Kannada, and a secretariat member of the undivided CPI Karnataka Committee.

The credentials report mentioned that out of the 254 elected delegates and 49 observers (a total of 303) who attended the conference, 297 filled out the credential form. The report revealed that 73 per cent of them are graduates or have higher educational qualifications, only 20 per cent are below the age of 40, 27 per cent are women, 48 per cent joined the Party post-2000, 25 per cent are from SC/ST communities, 7 per cent are from minorities, 30 per cent are Party full-timers, and 80 per cent read the Party organ.

The conference elected a 35-member state committee (including eight women), six permanent invitees, and three special invitees. It also elected a three-member State Control Commission. The newly elected state committee met and elected a 12-member secretariat, with K Prakash as secretary. Eleven delegates were elected to represent the state at the 24th Party Congress, to be held in April 2025. The comrades who were relieved from the committee were felicitated and individually recognised for their contributions.

Addressing the concluding session, M A Baby emphasized the importance of reaching the toiling masses to build a revolutionary party with a mass line. He called for shedding individualism, subjectivism, and factional tendencies and stressed the need to implement the decisions taken during the conference. The newly elected secretary, K Prakash, also addressed the gathering.