A one-day state-level class was organised on June 23, 2019 in the Adarsh Vidyalaya, Mumbai, by the CPI(M) Maharashtra state committee. 307 leading comrades from 27 districts attended. They included state and district committee members of the Party, all Party and mass front whole-timers and state secretariat members of the six main mass fronts.

The state class was preceded by meetings of the CPI(M) state secretariat and the state committee on June 21-22. They were attended by general secretary Sitaram Yechury and Polit Bureau member Nilotpal Basu.

After the welcome speech by Mumbai district secretary and state secretariat member S K Rege, the first session of the class was presided over by Central Committee member Mahendra Singh, who also placed the condolence resolution.

In the morning session, Sitaram Yechury placed in detail the review of the 17th Lok Sabha elections and tasks, which had been finalised by the Central Committee. A booklet of this review in Marathi had been urgently prepared by the state committee. It was bought by all the participants of the class and was given for sale among other leading comrades in each district. Sitaram’s presentation was followed by a lively question-answer session.

The afternoon session was presided over by Central Committee member Ashok Dhawale. Nilotpal Basu placed the challenges that needed to be overcome while contesting the coming state assembly elections. Central committee member and state secretary Narasayya Adam placed the decisions of the state committee as regards the state assembly elections and the other decisions (see below) and called upon the comrades to fight back the menace of the communal forces and to strengthen the Party and the Left in these elections. Central Committee member J P Gavit, MLA, on the basis of his experience of winning assembly polls seven times, gave practical guidance about the preparations that must be urgently undertaken.

Central Committee member Mariam Dhawale apprised the class of the decisions taken by the state committee to make a success of the national conference of the women’s front that will be held in Mumbai from December 27-30, 2019. Outlining the work being done by the women’s front in the state, she appealed to all to extend their hand of co-operation.

After the concluding speech by the chairman of the session, state committee member Shailendra Kamble proposed the vote of thanks. The class ended with the Internationale.

During this class, all participants contributed a sum of Rs 15,827 to the student front in response to its appeal. Progressive literature worth nearly Rs 10,000 was sold in this camp. Subscriptions and dues worth Rs 36,000 to the state party weekly Jeewan Marg and subscriptions worth Rs 7,000 to the central party organs were collected from the participants.

This state party class, held within a month of the results of the general elections, helped to create a common statewide understanding about the recent Lok Sabha election results and the resultant challenges. It also armed the comrades to fight the next battle of the Vidhan Sabha elections due in October with all their strength and determination.       

DECISIONS OF STATE COMMITTEE MEETING

The CPI(M) state committee reviewed the results of the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. Of the 48 Lok Sabha seats, the BJP-Shiv Sena communal alliance won 41 (BJP – 23, Shiv Sena – 18); the Congress-NCP alliance won 6 (Congress – 1, NCP – 4, Yuva Swabhimani – 1) and the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) comprising the BRP (Ambedkar) and MIM (Owaisi) won 1 (MIM – 1). As in the country as a whole, the same reasons contributed to the BJP-SS sweep in Maharashtra.

The voting percentage of the three combinations was as follows: BJP-SS – 51.2 per cent, Congress-NCP – 37.4 per cent, VBA – 7.4 per cent. The VBA contested all 48 seats, won one, secured over one lakh votes in 12 seats, but could retain its deposit in only three seats. However, by dividing the secular vote, it helped the BJP-SS to win at least seven seats.

The state committee reviewed the Party’s performance in the one seat that it contested against both the BJP and the NCP, viz Dindori (ST) in Nashik district. J P Gavit, seven time and sitting MLA, CPI(M) Central Committee member and AIKS state leader, was our candidate. Our votes increased by 37,000, from 72,599 (7.48 per cent) in 2014 to 1,09,570 (9.63 per cent) in 2019. Our strengths and weaknesses in fighting this election were also reviewed.

The state committee also discussed the political line to be adopted and the preparations for the coming state assembly elections. After discussion, a tentative and limited list of assembly seats that could be contested was drawn up. This will be finalised later.

After finalising the Party renewal for 2019, the state committee drew up certain guidelines for fixing the accountability of the Party leadership at different levels and also of the whole timers. As per the Central Committee decision, a report on the implementation of the tasks set out in the state organisational plenum will be finalised in the next state committee. It was decided that the district committees would clear their fund and literature dues at the earliest.  

The state committee also discussed the preparations for hosting the national conference of the women’s front in Mumbai in December 2019 and took the necessary decisions. The reception committee for this conference will be formed at a meeting in Mumbai on July 27.