THE 24th Assam State Conference of the CPI(M), held on January 5-7, 2025 in Guwahati, resolved to significantly expand the Party’s independent activities and build planned and sustained movements on local issues in the coming days. The conference also resolved to present the Left-democratic alternative programme strongly before the people and increase the Left's united actions.

The proceedings of the conference started with a huge public meeting presided over by Isfaqur Rahman, Party Central Committee member, attended by thousands of people from various walks of life.  Polit Bureau member and former chief minister of Tripura, Manik Sarkar, and Polit Bureau member Nilotpal Basu addressed the gathering as chief speakers.  Senior Party leader and chairman of the reception committee Uddhab Barman, veteran leader Hemen Das, state secretary Suprakash Talukdar, secretariat members Manoranjan Talukdar, MLA, and Sangita Das also addressed the gathering.

In his speech, Manik Sarkar underlined the need to build a strong and united movement to defeat the communal-corporate nexus under the BJP/RSS rule. He explained the divisive and communal politics of the BJP/RSS which is threatening democracy and the Constitution. Though the strength of the BJP in the Lok Sabha is reduced and now the Party no longer enjoys the majority on its own, their plan to turn our country into a fascistic Hindutva Rastra remains. Again, due to the pro-corporate policies pursued by the BJP-led government at the centre, the economic burdens on the common people are becoming unbearable. Terming the BJP-led state government in Assam with Himanta Biswa Sarma at the helm as a toxic government that is targeting the Muslim community with its communally motivated eviction drive rendering thousands of people homeless, he urged all the democratic and secular forces and people to come together to remove both governments from the seat of power to safeguard the Constitution and democracy.

Addressing the gathering, Nilotpal Basu termed the BJP government led by Modi as the government of the looters and the prime minister himself is shielding the swindler like Adanis. The police in all the BJP-ruled states are being used to silence the opposition. Now the jails are filled with opposition leaders and people with dissenting voices. In Assam, people are jailed for writing poetry or drawing graffiti. The authoritarian rule of the BJP is not only a threat to the communists but a threat to all the democratic people in the country.

Assam state secretary Suprakash Talukdar highlighted the rampant corruption in the state under Himanta Biswa Sarma. It is now the family of the chief minister who owns three major satellite channels, more than 28 tea gardens, an international school, hotels, resorts, and lands in various districts. The major construction contract bids are won by the near and dear ones. This is the government that killed five youths during the anti-CAA movement. The rabid communal politics of the BJP/RSS is taken to new heights by the chief minister himself. The Muslim community is singled out for eviction. But despite the BJP’s use of enticements, threats, and its massive financial and muscle power, a large section of the general public has begun distancing itself from the BJP, he added.

Veteran leader and chairman of the reception committee, Uddhab Barman while welcoming the people said that people once again started showing interest in the Left. Another veteran of the communist movement in the state, Hemen Das urged all the workers, supporters, and sympathizers of the CPI(M) to work hard so that the real alternative politics of the people may be strengthened.

State secretariat member and MLA, Manoranjan Talukdar said that the only resolve of the CPI(M) in the state is to unseat the Himanta Biswa Sarma government from power in the coming assembly election. Another secretariat member Sangita Das highlighted the plight of students, youth, scheme workers, and women in the state.

The public meeting also passed a resolution strongly protesting the state government’s decision to restrict the scope for political parties to hold public meetings by reducing the availability of open public spaces in the state capital.

The delegate session was held in the picturesque Silpagram Campus which was named after Comrade Sitaram Yechury. Veteran leader Hemen Das hoisted the red flag amid thunderous slogans. Floral tributes were paid to the martyr’s column. The inaugural session, presided over by former state secretary Deben Bhattacharya, started at 5 pm in the evening.

Inaugurating the state conference, Manik Sarkar discussed at length the prevailing political situation in the country, calling for strengthening the Party organisation and ideologically equipping the entire rank and file so that a meaningful fight against the fascistic, communal, and anti-people policies of the BJP/RSS may be unleashed. He also called for unleashing a sustained struggle on people’s issues to win the confidence of the people in general.

Representing the Left parties CPI state secretary Kanak Gogoi, CPI(ML) state secretary Bibek Das, and AIFB state chairman Mihir Nandi also greeted the conference.

DELEGATE

SESSION

The five-member presidium comprising Deben Bhattacharya, Isfaqur Rahman, Nirmal Dey, Swarnalata Das, and Bapu Boro conducted the proceedings of the delegate session. State Secretary Suprakash Talukdar presented the political resolution and the organisational report.

The political resolution said that the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government has intensified communal polarisation, evident in its controversial policies like encounters, and bulldozer politics targeting minorities. The public discontent is also steadily growing against BJP’s anti-people authoritarian actions and extreme communal politics. Protests and expressions of anger have occasionally erupted across the state. Fearing public backlash, the government was compelled to retract or alter some of its decisions. However, the BJP government remains generally disrespectful towards protests and intolerant towards democratic dissent.

The political resolution also highlighted the fact that the state government has not revised the minimum wages for workers in the past eight years. As a result, skilled and unskilled workers are facing severe financial burdens due to rising prices and increasing cost of living.

Highlighting the citizenship issue, the political report said that the Supreme Court recently resolved a prolonged dispute concerning the Foreigners (Tribunal) Act. The five-member Bench ruled that the provision of the Citizenship Act is constitutional which provides that March 25, 1971, is the base year for detecting foreigners in Assam. The CPI(M) welcomed the decision and demanded that urgent steps should be taken to finalise the National Register of Citizens (NRC). After the publication of the final list, the ineligible persons should be provided with the legal process available to them at the earliest.

The organisational report stressed the need to increase the independent strength of the Party and to this end in view, called for significantly expanding the Party’s independent activities and building planned and sustained struggles and movements on local issues in the coming days.

Sixty-seven delegates representing the districts, units under the state committee, and various fronts and platforms participated in the discussion for nearly seven hours. Along with 58 women delegates, a total of 314 delegates and observers attended the conference.

In his intervention after the discussion, Manik Sarkar dealt with some of the organisational issues concerning the state. He urged upon all the delegates to streamline the Party organisation to successfully meet the challenges before the Party.

Polit Bureau member Nilotpal Basu also addressed the delegate session highlighting the BJP’s misuse of various agencies. The BJP/RSS is resorting to all sorts of communal politics and social engineering as well as disinformation campaigns to divide the people. It is up to the state Party in Assam to explore the ways and means to defeat the danger of the right-wing forces in Assam.

Both the political resolution and the political report were adopted unanimously after the summing up of the discussions by the state secretary Suprakash Talukdar. The conference also adopted twenty-one resolutions covering a range of issues concerning the state.

Five veterans of the communist movement in the state, Purna Boro, Ex-MLA from Kamrup district, Gajen Bora and Meera Tamuly from Sonitpur district, Tamjidur Rahman from Jorhat district and Prof. Rajen Barua from Nalbari district were felicitated at the conference. Two veterans, Mira Tamuly and Purna Boro could not attend due to ill health.

The conference elected a 50-member state committee (six women) with Hemen Das, Uddhab Barman, and Deben Bhattacharya as special invitees. Suprakash Talukdar was re-elected as the state secretary with a 13-member state secretariat. The conference also elected a three-member control commission with Nirmal Gogoi as its chairman and 16 delegates to the ensuing Party Congress.

On behalf of the presidium, Deben Bhattacharya delivered the concluding remarks. With the singing of the ‘Internationale’, the 24th Assam State Conference of the CPI(M) came to an end.

 It is noteworthy that the reception committee organised various programmes like seminars, cultural programmes, tree plantation, and family gatherings as part of the state conference. One unique programme was “a moment for man and nature” organised on December 27, 2025 where singers, painters and social activists took part. The cultural programme and the family gathering organised in the evening on January 6, 2025 was enthusiastically attended by a large number of people. Three seminars at three centres in the city were also organised by the reception committee in the run up to the conference.