24th Congress Report on Organisation

Report on Organisation

Adopted at the 24^th Congress at Madurai, Tamilnadu

April 02-06, 2025

Part-I

1. Introduction

The Draft Political Resolution adopted by the Central Committee for the 24^th Congress has highlighted that the prime task is to fight and defeat the BJP-RSS and the Hindutva-corporate nexus underpinning it. This requires the strengthening of class and mass struggles against the intensifying exploitation of the working people and simultaneously a continuous struggle against the Hindutva ideology and the activities of the communal forces. This crucially needs a substantial increase in the independent strength of the Party and the strengthening of the Left and democratic forces, which in turn, will help forge the wider unity of all the secular and democratic forces. The Party organisation must be equipped to discharge this political-tactical line.

During this period, the Party and mass organisations led numerous struggles, movements and campaigns, both independently and jointly. These struggles have successfully forced the governments to grant certain concessions. The details presented in the Political Review Report and Mass Front Reports illustrate that people are willing to fight for their rights when provided with proper leadership.

However, these efforts remain insufficient to meet the present challenging situation in the country. Much more widespread and sustained movements are necessary to counter the current corporate-communal nexus led by the BJP government. To achieve this, it is essential to consolidate the struggles already undertaken into effective political influence, while simultaneously achieving growth of our Party’s independent strength.

The Political Review Report examined the implementation of the political-tactical line adopted by the 23^rd Congress and pointed out certain weaknesses and shortcomings. Here, we will review the implementation of the organisational tasks set out by the 23^rd Congress to identify the persisting weaknesses in the functioning of our Party and mass organisations. On the basis of such a review, we need to formulate specific tasks and guidelines for streamlining and improving the Party organisation, which is essential for developing the independent strength of the Party.

The Central Committee has concretised the organisational tasks as decided in the 23^rd Congress, for implementation. They are:

1. “Improving the quality of Party membership; for this strictly implementing the five-point criteria for membership eligibility from the next Party membership renewals of 2023.

2. Activisation of Party Branches: Every state committee should fix a target of the number of branches to be activised within a time frame of six months. Along with that a plan for training of branch secretaries.

3. Planned drive to increase the youth and women membership in the Party in the 2023 and 2024 renewals.

4. Planned drive to recruit new young wholetimers and provide for their ideological and political training; reeducation and training of the existing wholetimers.

5. Plan Central schools at the permanent school at Surjeet Bhavan. Education sub-committee must drew up plan for schools till year-end. Note on RSS and Hindutva ideology and practice should be finalised in next three months by the Party Centre.

6. The Central Committee should draw up a plan for a rectification campaign and the time-frame for it.

7. Setting up of rural workers’ unions/federations to cover the whole gamut of rural workers. For this, state committees should conduct surveys to find out the different types of work being undertaken by rural non-agricultural workers. Such surveys should be completed in a fixed time-frame by end of this year.

8. On the basis of these surveys, state committees should discuss on how to organise different sections of rural workers and send that report to the Party Centre.

9. State committees should draw up a plan for integrating the use of social media with the Party organisation. Workshops should be conducted to ensure the implementation of the guidelines set out. These should be done within this year.

10. Set out a year-long plan for review of work of mass fronts by the Central Committee. Ensure guidelines for independent functioning of mass organisations are implemented; monitor Party building and functioning of fractions.

11. State committees should discuss setting up of children’s organisations (Bal Sangham). At the Central level, a meeting/workshop should be organised to help start the work and for coordination.

12. State committees should plan work in urban areas with the assistance/coordination of the Urban Affairs Committee at Centre”.

We need to evaluate our efforts in implementing the above mentioned tasks and assess the results achieved in the period since the 23^rd Congress.

2. Organisation

Quality of Membership

At the 23^rd Congress in 2021, Party membership stood at 9,85,757. By the 24^th Congress in 2024, this number increased to 10,19,009, mainly due to growth in Kerala and Telangana. Membership rose in 14 states but declined in 11 states.

We have been repeatedly emphasising the necessity of improving the overall quality of our members. The Kolkata Plenum directed the implementation of a five-point criteria for membership renewal to maintain high standards. Some states have attempted to enforce these criteria during renewals. But these have had only partial success. In Tamilnadu and some other states, there is reluctance to implement the five-point criteria on the part of various committees.

In states like West Bengal, a special drive is undertaken to ensure that membership is renewed only after a review of the work of Party members and their participation in Party activities. Regular persuasion, scrutiny of membership and sending reports to higher committees immediately after renewal is helping in checking the quality of membership.

However, the collection of the stipulated levy remains a major concern in most states, particularly from middle-class members. In Rajasthan, some elected representatives and in Uttar Pradesh, even district committee members are reluctant to pay the levy.

Beyond levy payments, many Party members are not actively participating in Party activities, including election campaigns. Only 30-40 per cent of members regularly engage in Party work. Additionally, subscriptions to Party organs and reading Party literature remain low. It is crucial to ensure that all Party members subscribe to Party journals, read them, and actively disseminate the Party’s views among the masses.

Efforts to improve the quality of Party members must continue with renewed vigour. Currently, a considerable number of members become inactive after joining the Party and leave the Party or have to be dropped. Droppage rates are high in many states. For instance, the number of candidate members dropped during renewals in 2024 amount to 22.8 per cent in Kerala, 35.5 per cent in Telangana, 14.5 per cent in Himachal Pradesh and 14 per cent in Uttar Pradesh. Among full Party members, droppage rate is above 6 per cent in seven states, as per the scrutiny of membership renewal in 2023. Though droppage rates year-wise are not available, the state conference report of Tamilnadu has stated that 10 to 15 per cent of members were dropped annually in the years 2015 to 2024.

This shows that there is loose recruitment and lack of enrolment through functioning auxiliary groups. Auxiliary groups formed from militant and active supporters of mass and class organisations should function to prepare comrades for candidate membership. The one year of candidate membership is a period when comrades get trained politically, ideologically and organisationally to enhance their political consciousness and to discharge their duties.

Experience has shown that improving the quality of Party members cannot be achieved through political education alone. Keeping members active requires their continuous involvement in activities relevant to people’s daily lives. There are a number of Party members in various states who are not members or active in any mass organisation. Sustained mass movements and struggles are essential for recruiting high-quality members and keeping existing members engaged and effective.

Attracting individuals with leadership qualities and influence remains a challenge. Many members lack the ability to mobilise and lead. The primary reason for this is the absence of grassroots-level mass organisations. If such mechanisms were in place, natural leadership would emerge from individuals with strong mass contact and influence.

Composition of Women

There has been an improvement in the representation of women within the Party. In 2021, women constituted 18.2 per cent of Party membership, rising to 20.2 per cent in 2024.

Women’s membership has increased in almost all 17 states for which the Centre has data. The best record is in Kerala where 28,000 more women joined the Party (19.8 to 22.8 per cent). Other states where there is a notable increase are Tamil Nadu (21.6 to 22.7 per cent), Telangana (16 to 17.2 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (20.7 to 21.9 per cent), Assam (22.4 per cent), Delhi (32.5 to 36.3 per cent), Karnataka (32 to 33.8 per cent), Haryana (13.1 to 14.3 per cent).

In other states there is a slight increase of 1 per cent like in Bihar and UP, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, while in Maharashtra (19 to 18.7 per cent), and Uttarakhand (25.8 to 25.6 per cent) it remained largely unchanged.

In West Bengal, whereas the participation of women in activities of the party and mass organization has been noteworthy, there is not even one per cent increase in party recruitment (10.8 to 11.4 per cent) which is to be addressed. In Tripura, the decline in women’s membership from 20.3 per cent to 15.9 per cent is a matter of concern.

The 25 per cent target of women’s membership set in the Kolkata Plenum is yet to be achieved, necessitating more intense efforts from all states. Patriarchal values within the Party are the biggest hurdle in recruiting women, even though their participation in Party programmes has increased. The significant potential for recruiting women from all the other fronts especially TU front (like scheme workers), must be realised through proper identification and the formation of auxiliary groups.

The Kolkata Plenum also resolved to increase women’s representation in Party committees at all levels. In both the 22^nd and 23^rd Congresses, 15 women were elected to the Central Committee. However, the percentage increased from 15.8 per cent to 17.6 per cent due to a reduction in the total number of members in the Central Committee.

In the 23^rd Party Congress the Constitution was amended to fix a quota for women in Party committees at different levels given the commitment of the Party to ensure an increase in women’s participation in decision making bodies. According to reports available, Kerala, West Bengal, Tripura, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh committees had some discussion on this. The Tamilnadu committee took a decision to have at least 20 per cent of women at all levels, including the state committee. The percentage has increased from 15 per cent to 19 per cent in the state. The average in district committees is 15.7 per cent and 16.4 per cent in intermediary committees. At all levels women’s representation has increased. In the recently concluded state conference in Maharashtra 12 women, out of 50 (24 per cent) were elected to the state committee, while earlier there were only 9. This is a commendable example.

In West Bengal, the number of women in the state committee increased from 14 (17.3 per cent) to 15 (18.5 per cent) out of 81. In Kerala, the number of women members in the state committee remains the same at 12 (13.5 per cent). This remains low.

In Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Assam, one additional woman was elected to the state committee, raising the percentage from 14 to 16 per cent (Andhra Pradesh), 6.6 to 10 per cent (Odisha), 10.2 to 12 per cent (Assam). Among the Hindi speaking states Delhi has the highest percentage at 27.5 per cent; Madhya Pradesh at 20 per cent; Rajasthan 11.4 per cent; Bihar 11 per cent; UP 12 per cent; Haryana 17.8 per cent, and from 8.3 to 11.1 per cent (Punjab). In Chattisgarh the per cent increased to 11.4 per cent from 9.5 per cent earlier.

These numbers of elected state committee members are excluding invitees.

At the level of intermediate committees there is a mixed record.

In Kerala, the absolute number of women elected to local committees has increased by 253, from 4,420 in 2022 to 4,673 in the recently-concluded conferences. However, since the number of local committees has increased, the actual percentage of women has decreased from 17 to 15 per cent. This reflects the need to fix and implement a quota for women at all levels.

In West Bengal, the number was fixed at 15 per cent in district committees. In Area Committees it is at least two or three depending on the size of the committee. Tripura has the highest number of women in the district committees at 19 per cent. For the local committees the number decided is for 3 women members. If these are not filled at the time of the conference, the post remains vacant and can only be filled by a woman.

In Andhra Pradesh there were two guidelines. First that the women members in the committees should be proportionate to the number of women party members. The second that at least 10 per cent should be women members. In districts, the average percentage is 14.2 per cent, which is a slight improvement although not in proportion to the women’s membership. Among the other states, in Telangana there is no improvement with just 12 per cent in the district committees.

With a few exceptions notably Tamilnadu, the constitutional amendment is yet to be properly implemented in the party. This is an important task for the Party.

Youth Composition

The number of Party members below the age of 31 remains a cause for concern. There has been a decline in youth membership in almost all states except Kerala, which has led to an overall increase in youth representation. In 2021, 19.5 per cent of Party members were under 31, rising to 22.6 per cent in 2024.

In Kerala, youth membership has increased significantly from 23.79 per cent to 29.8 per cent, which is impressive as it is the only state which had met the target set by Kolkata Plenum. In Bihar, there is a good presence of youth (18.2 per cent) among our Party members. However, substantial declines have been recorded in Himachal Pradesh (19.2 to 13.5 per cent), Haryana (7.9 to 4.9 per cent), Tripura (17.8 to 16.4 per cent), Tamilnadu (16.8 to 14.4 per cent), Andhra Pradesh (17.6 to 16.5 per cent), Jharkhand (23.3 to 22 per cent). In Delhi, the percentage remains stagnant at 11.7 per cent.

The decline in the youth composition in West Bengal (8.7 to 8.2 per cent) is persisting in spite of repeated discussions. It is a matter of concern as a large number of youth are participating in our mass activities. This shows the need to intensify our efforts to bring them into our Party.

Many states have acknowledged the failure to recruit more youth into the Party. This issue requires immediate attention and must be addressed with due seriousness. In addition to focusing on youth and student fronts, special efforts should be made by the sub-committees to recruit youth from trade unions and the kisan movement, where many are actively involved in struggles.

Class Composition

The Party maintains a healthy class composition. According to data from 13 states representing 9,18,626 members, 48.25 per cent belong to the working class, 17.79 per cent are agricultural workers, and 9.93 per cent are poor peasants. Thus, 75.97 per cent of members come from the basic classes. However, the representation of poor peasants is lagging and must be improved.

This class composition is not adequately reflected in committees. In the 10 state committees for which data exists, 20.18 per cent of members are from the working class, 7.7 per cent are agricultural workers, and 14.7 per cent are poor peasants, making a total of 42.58 per cent from the basic classes. In district committees, 35.32 per cent of members belong to the basic classes, while in intermediary committees, the figure is 88.39 per cent.

Social Composition

The Party has a healthy social composition in the membership. The overall dalits in the Party is 19.3 per cent. Except in Maharashtra, the percentage of dalits in all other states is more than their state average. However, among adivasis, we need to step up our efforts. The percentage of tribal Party members is only 5.1. In Maharashtra, the Party has a strong presence among the adivasis with 53.9 per cent of the Party membership. In some of the important tribal populated states like Tripura, Assam, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal, the percentage of tribal Party members is less than their percentage in the state population.

The percentage of Muslim minorities in the Party is low. Except in Delhi, in all other states, the percentage in the Party membership as a proportion to their state population is far less. This should be overcome.

Overall, the Party needs to prioritise its efforts in expanding our influence among the socially oppressed sections and recruit them into the Party.

The Party must carefully monitor class and social composition at all committee levels and take steps to improve it at the higher tiers. Political and ideological training should be prioritised to prepare cadre from basic classes for leadership positions.

Disabled: Due to our sustained work, we were able to increase Party membership among the disabled. In Kerala, there are around 8,680 Party members. There are 68 branches in Tamilnadu and 15 branches in Telangana exclusively for the disabled.

Branch Functioning

According to reports from 17 states, there are 81,513 Party branches. The Political-Organisational Report adopted at the 23^rd Congress directed the prioritisation of branch activisation, including training for branch secretaries, strengthening their political-ideological level, and holding regular meetings with higher committees.

Some state committees have taken steps to improve branch functioning. Tamilnadu, Assam, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Delhi have organised workshops and special camps for branch secretaries and local committee members. In Bihar and Haryana, district committee members have been assigned responsibility for ensuring that branches function regularly. The improvement in the functioning of local committees led to better functioning of branches in Punjab. These efforts have resulted in slight improvements.

However, most branches still do not meet monthly as required. Currently, fewer than 30 per cent meet at least once every 45 days, and most meet only four to five times a year. Some branches meet only during renewals, which is unacceptable.

Acting on the decisions taken in the 23^rd Congress, the Central Committee decided that within six months, every state committee has to identify certain branches and prioritise their functioning. Many states have acknowledged their weakness in improving branch functioning, but made little efforts to implement the Central Committee decision.

Tamilnadu state committee has identified and prioritised 50 per cent branches and worked for improving their functioning. Their review notes that such a targeted approach helps in improving branch functioning.

Haryana planned to activise 30 per cent of the branches in 2022 and identified certain priority branches in districts, but could not follow it up.

Activating branches is crucial for identifying and addressing local issues. Ensuring monthly meetings must be a key priority in the coming period. Intermediary committees must take responsibility for activating branches, and district committees should closely monitor implementation.

Whole-Timers and Cadre

According to data from 17 states, the Party currently has 10,473 whole-timers. A significant portion of them are concentrated in the following states: 6,129 in Kerala, 1,428 in West Bengal, 721 in Andhra Pradesh, 640 in Telangana, 555 in Tamil Nadu, and 527 in Tripura.

‘Guidelines for a Policy on Whole-timers’ prepared by the Polit Bureau was sent in July 2023 to all the states. These guidelines dealt with the selection, training, review of whole-timers, along with the wages and retirement policy.

In many states, whole-timers’ allowances remain inadequate, and in some cases, payments are delayed. While states such as Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana provide reasonable allowances, financial support is inconsistent elsewhere. Recently, the Rajasthan state committee initiated a special fund collection to ensure timely payments. Similar separate funds for whole-timers’ allowances should be established and maintained in all states, as prioritising this issue is essential.

The decision taken at the 23^rd Congress, based on the guidelines of the Kolkata Plenum regarding whole-timers, remains largely unimplemented. It was stated: “One of the important tasks in the Kolkata Plenum was formulating a whole-timers policy, which includes proper recruitment based on political-organisational criteria, education, periodic review of their work, and provision of adequate wages.” This policy should also address the retirement of older full-time cadres, including provisions for retirement benefits based on their financial conditions. However, there has been little progress in implementing these directives. Andhra Pradesh updated its whole-timer policy, reviewed their work and also conducted reorientation workshops for them.

One of the organisational tasks set out by the 23^rd Congress was the recruitment of new young whole-timers. Some steps have been taken in this regard. In Tripura, 69 new whole-timers were recruited since the last Party Congress and among those 17 (24.6 per cent) are young whole-timers. In Telangana, 51 new whole-timers were recruited during this period, of which 19 (37.3 per cent) are young. In Andhra Pradesh, 40 new whole-timers were recruited. In West Bengal too, 62 new whole-timers were recruited in this period. However, many states have reported a decline in the overall number of whole-timers since many existing whole-timers were relieved or dropped.

There is an urgent need to improve the overall quality of cadres and leaders. Reports indicate that certain negative tendencies have emerged, including corruption, moral decay, careerism, alien lifestyles, and a desire for positions. A few cases of sexual harassment have also been reported. Addressing these issues requires immediate and decisive action by the Party.

Periodic review of whole-timers’ work is almost non-existent in most states. In some cases, whole-timers are not even assigned concrete responsibilities, making it impossible to assess their contributions effectively. Regular evaluations, along with efforts to enhance their political and ideological consciousness, should be undertaken immediately.

Whole-timers are professional revolutionaries. This means that they are not just individuals dedicating full time to mass and Party work but are also responsible for the comprehensive development of the revolutionary movement. For example, whole-timers deputed for trade union work should not limit their role to managing union affairs. They must also engage with working-class families – including women, children, and students – and address not only occupational issues but also concerns related to their residential areas, cultural activities, and social life. Only by embracing such a holistic approach can whole-timers effectively attract people to the Party.

Comrades Relieved due to Age Limit

Age limit for committees was introduced in the run-up to the 23^rd Congress of the Party. For the Central Committee, the age limit was fixed at 75 years and for state committees and intermediate committees, 75 years or below. The Central Committee had issued a note in October 2021 ‘On Relieving of Comrades due to Age Limit’, in which ways were suggested to accommodate and utilise those comrades who were relieved due to age but are still able to work. The following steps were set out:

“(i) As is the practice, at the state committee level, a few veteran comrades with distinguished service can be made special invitees. But this has to be selective and not all the comrades who are being relieved. The maximum limit of five should remain for bigger states. For the smaller states with membership below 20,000, special invitees can be upto three.

“(ii) Others being relieved from PC can be placed in a unit under the PC, or, if they can work in a district in a unit under the district Centre.

“(iii) At the district committee level, relieved comrades can be placed in a unit under the DC Centre. If they are associated with a mass organisation and are office-bearers, appropriate Party unit can be considered”.

Based on the reports on how this was implemented in some states, it can be said that special invitees (those who have been able to do some work) have been utilised for Party education, looking after study/cultural centres and for general campaigns. Some continue to be active in the mass organisations. Those who are not special invitees have been put in units either under the state centre or the district centre or mass organisations’ centre and been assigned some work.

It has been found that in some state committees, the number fixed for special invitees as five for big committees and three for smaller committees, have been exceeded. As pointed out in the CC guidelines, only those comrades who have a long record of distinguished service in the state or district leadership should be made special invitees. Others who are being relieved must be properly utilised given their experience and capabilities. There are a few instances of comrades who were relieved not being put in a Party unit or assigned some work. This should be rectified.

With the difference in age limit of a state committee and of the Central Committee, it is possible that a comrade who is relieved from the state committee gets elected to the Central Committee where the age limit is higher. In such cases, the concerned Central Committee member should be given state level organisational responsibilities.

State, District, and Intermediary Committees

The Party has 22 state committees and four state organising committees. Based on data from 16 states, there are 204 district committees, 76 district organising committees, 1,260 area committees, and 3,180 local committees. Of these local committees, 2,444 are from Kerala.

Many state committees function independently and regularly undertake discussions on political developments. Reports indicate that discussions in most state committees take place in a free and open atmosphere. However, states such as Odisha and Chhattisgarh felt an urgent need to develop the political and ideological consciousness of state committee members.

Collective functioning within the state secretariats serves as a crucial countermeasure against individualism and factionalism, improving the efficiency of individual members. The secretary is responsible for fostering collective functioning at the state centre, secretariat, and committee levels. Daily meetings among available secretariat members will help build cohesion. Additionally, all state secretariats should establish guidelines for the effective functioning of Party centres and secretariats.

A significant weakness among state committees is their failure to identify and sustain struggles on local issues. In states where the Party’s presence is weak, state committee members should actively participate in branch meetings. In Kerala, state committee members attend at least one unit meeting annually, which has significantly improved branch functioning.

According to state conference reports, many district committees struggle to function independently without the state leadership’s intervention. Discussions in district committee meetings primarily focus on implementing directives from higher committees, with political developments being reported only when higher committee representatives are present. Political discussions are rare.

The functioning of district committees requires immediate attention. To enhance their effectiveness, separate workshops should be conducted periodically for members of intermediate and district committees. These workshops should focus on planning and implementing tasks at their respective levels. For instance, intermediate committee members should be trained in branch functioning, organising local struggles, raising mass funds, studying local conditions, activating Party members, and strengthening the foundational units of mass organisations.

Experiences of Conferences in States

Overall, the state conferences held showed an improvement in the tenor of discussions and the political-organisational level. Kerala was remarkable in the way 38,426 branch conferences to the local, area and state conferences displayed a high level of political and organisational unity. In West Bengal, the conferences reflected improvement in organisational functioning at all levels and greater clarity in the political direction. In Tripura, the conferences at branch and local level were also held in areas where previously conferences could not be held, with greater participation of members/delegates. The state conferences also displayed growing confidence in meeting the challenges.

In other states too generally, the state conferences showed positive features.

But some weaknesses have been noted in some states. By and large in the Hindi-speaking states, the discussions in the state conferences did not show sufficient awareness of how the BJP-RSS and Hindutva forces are able to influence the people and their consciousness. Except in general terms, there were no discussions of the concrete activities in various spheres of these forces. This reveals how weak our links with the people are in this region and our inability to come to grips with the menacing advance of the reactionary communal forces. As a follow-up, the Party Centre and Polit Bureau should organise discussions and workshops to focus on this issue and give direction to our political, ideological and organisational activities.

In Telangana state conference, some unhealthy trends were observed. This matter should be taken up after the Party Congress.

In Tamilnadu, the state conference was conducted well. But, in 18 out of 41 newly-elected district committees, contests for secretaryship took place. We have to examine whether there is some weakness in collective functioning and the development of a leadership team and take remedial measures.

On the Rectification Campaign

The 23^rd Congress directed the Party to conduct ‘rectification campaign as a continuous process’ due to the prevalence of certain alien class tendencies among our Party from the top to the bottom.

The Party Central Committee, according to the directions of the 23^rd Congress initiated a rectification campaign focusing on three major aspects – i) Improving work of Party committees based on democratic centralism. ii) Upholding progressive and Communist values in personal, family and social life. iii) Handling of funds and eliminating corrupt practices.

Polit Bureau and Central Committee members submitted their self-evaluation reports, on the basis of which a report was prepared and discussed in the Central Committee. The CC also self-critically discussed the implementation of the principle of democratic centralism and noted the need to increase our efforts and improve our functioning. A document was prepared on this basis and sent to the states for conducting the rectification campaign.

In many states the document was discussed and further strengthened on the basis of the discussions carried out in the state committees. Many state committees self-critically identified that the influence of religious, unscientific and obscurantist ideas is increasing among the cadres and within the Party. The Tamilnadu report noted instances of domestic violence, demand for dowry and other patriarchal attitudes prevalent among some sections of our leadership at the district and lower levels. The Telangana report identified corruption as a major issue. The Assam report self-critically noted the liberal attitude in dealing with violations of Party discipline. However, some states, such as Telangana, have omitted any mention of the rectification campaign and its impact in their state conference reports.

The West Bengal state report noted that there is a weakness in implementing the principle of democratic centralism. Some other states like Assam, Odisha, Rajasthan, Gujarat also noted this weakness in their reports.

The state report of Tripura noted that in spite of implementing the rectification campaign, still some weaknesses continue. Many other state reports too note this aspect, which only shows the need for being vigilant and combating such tendencies within the Party.

The CC decided that the rectification campaign should be carried up to the district level in all the states. But the campaign could not be taken down to all the district committees in many states. This is also a reflection of the major weakness that came to light during the campaign.

PB and Party Centre

PBMs at the Centre: Apart from the General Secretary, Sitaram Yechury, nine Polit Bureau members worked full time from the Centre: 1) Prakash Karat 2) Brinda Karat 3) M. A. Baby 4) Subhashini Ali 5) B. V. Raghavulu 6) Tapan Sen 7) Nilotpal Basu 8) A Vijayaraghavan and 9) Ashok Dhawale.

In September 2024, General Secretary Sitaram Yechury passed away and Prakash Karat was made the Coordinator of the Polit Bureau. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, secretary of the Kerala State Committee passed away and in his place M.V. Govindan was inducted into the PB in 2023.

Work and Responsibilities of PBMs at the Centre: The General Secretary was in-charge of the overall coordination, head of the Central Secretariat, Editor of Marxist, in-charge of the science fraction and IT & Free Software movement; Prakash Karat – Convenor of organisation sub-committee, Editor, People’s Democracy, and convenor of History Commission; Brinda Karat – Convenor of women’s sub-committee, tribal fraction committee and in-charge of social media; M. A. Baby – in-charge of international department, cultural fraction and Bal Sangham; Subhashini Ali – convenor of the agit-prop department, committee on Muslim minority affairs and in-charge of Lekhak Sangh fraction committee; B. V. Raghavulu – Convenor of education sub-committee, in-charge of committee on urban affairs and HKS Surjeet Bhavan; Tapan Sen – General Secretary of TU front and Convenor of TU sub-committee; Nilotpal Basu – Convenor of student-youth joint committee, in-charge of college and university teachers fraction, university employees fraction, school teachers fraction, student fraction and youth fraction and committee on education policy; A Vijayaraghavan, president of agricultural workers’ front and Ashok Dhawale – president of the Kisan front, Convenor of the Agrarian sub-committee and member of the education sub-committee and agit-prop department.

Apart from PBMs working full time from the Centre, the responsibilities of other PBMs are as follows: Surjyakanta Mishra is PB member in-charge of Odisha state committee. Mohd. Salim is secretary of West Bengal. Manik Sarkar is concentrating in Tripura and he is PB member in-charge of Assam state committee. Pinarayi Vijayan is Chief Minister of Kerala and concentrating in Kerala. G. Ramakrishnan is concentrating in Tamilnadu and he is in-charge of lawyers union and PB member in-charge of Andaman & Nicobar and Puducherry state organising committees. M.V. Govindan is the Secretary of Kerala state committee. Ramachandra Dome is concentrating in West Bengal and is also the Convenor of the committee on dalit affairs and public health.

States Responsibilities

Andhra Pradesh: BV Raghavulu and MA Baby; Bihar: Ashok Dhawale and A Vijayaraghavan; Jharkhand: Brinda Karat and Ramachandra Dome; Maharashtra: Nilotpal Basu and Ashok Dhawale; Uttar Pradesh: Subhashini Ali and Vikram Singh; Karnataka: MA Baby and BV Raghavulu; Punjab: Nilotpal Basu; Madhya Pradesh: Subhashini Ali and Arun Kumar; Gujarat: Ashok Dhawale and Muralidharan; Haryana: Nilotpal Basu and K Hemalata; Rajasthan: Brinda Karat and Vijoo Krishnan; Tamilnadu: Prakash Karat and G Ramakrishnan; Telangana: B.V. Raghavulu and A Vijayaraghavan; Delhi: Brinda Karat; Sikkim: West Bengal State Committee; Goa: Vivek Monteiro; Chhattisgarh: Jogendra Sharma; Uttarakhand: Vijoo Krishnan; Himachal Pradesh: A Vijayaraghavan and Tapan Sen; Manipur: Suprakash Talukdar; Jammu and Kashmir: Sitaram Yechury; Andaman and Nicobar: G Ramakrishnan and Sujan Chakraborty; Lakshadweep: Kerala State Committee.

Polit Bureau’s Work

Since the 23^rd Party Congress, the Polit Bureau has functioned with greater cohesion. It convened 18 times, including one online meeting, maintaining the practice of bi-monthly meetings. Daily meetings with available PB members continued, addressing political developments, issuing statements, and discussing urgent matters, particularly state and mass front issues. However, the decision to hold full resident PB meetings twice a month to review sub-committee reports and other important issues was not consistently adhered to and needs rectification.

The Party Centre and the Polit Bureau took up the implementation of various tasks which were listed out by the Central Committee based on the 23^rd Congress Political-Organisational Report. The tasks under the Centre’s purview, which were undertaken are as follows: holding of regular Central schools at HKS Surjeet Bhavan; the preparation of a Note on RSS for Party education; guidelines for policy on whole-timers; rectification campaign on three issues of Polit Bureau and Central Committee; holding of Hindi state secretaries meeting regularly; Central workshops on Bal Sangham and follow-up; workshop on social media; and workshop on certain cultural activities. Further, the Polit Bureau ensured that mass front review reports be prepared and submitted for discussion in the Central Committee – trade union, youth and agricultural workers fronts.

The presence of ten PBMs at the Centre facilitated the smooth functioning of sub-committees and departments, including international affairs, agit-prop, and Party education.

The PB took the initiative to hold a joint meeting of the TU and Agrarian sub-committees in August 2023. The PB took steps to reconvene meetings of Left parties, holding discussions with CPI and organising two joint campaigns.

The Party Centre actively intervened in major political developments and organisational matters in states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Punjab. A PB team dealt with the organisational issues in Andhra Pradesh, and another committee addressed problems in Punjab, both submitting reports and suggesting corrective measures. Additionally, the PB intervened in Telangana addressing a letter on the issue of taking money from bourgeois parties during elections and the liberal attitude of the state committee in dealing with this issue.

However, on implementation of tasks which were to be taken up at the state level, the Polit Bureau self-critically noted that it failed to adequately intervene to see that these tasks were concretised and implemented. PBMs/CCMs in-charge of states have reported the Central Committee decisions in this regard, but ensuring that these tasks are being implemented and pursuing and checking up how far they have been implemented was not done. For instance, how far the five-point criteria is being implemented at the time of membership renewals; was the rural workers survey taken up for implementation by the state committee and checking up how it is being done, so also work in urban areas and so on.

In the coming days, the Polit Bureau’s work must align more closely with Party Congress priorities. A yearly evaluation of PBMs’ collective and individual performance at the Centre is necessary to enhance efficiency and accountability.

Central Secretariat: A central secretariat was constituted with six members – Sitaram Yechury, Jogendra Sharma, Rajendra Sharma, Arun Kumar, Muralidharan and Vijoo Krishnan as members.

Muralidharan is in-charge of the Central Committee office. He is the convenor of the committee on disability affairs and the general secretary of the disability platform. He is a member of the Central IC. Jogendra Sharma is a member of international department. Rajendra Sharma is the Editor of Loklahar and member of agit-prop department. Arun Kumar is discharging his responsibilities as general secretary of the peace organisation, member of international department, education sub-committee and committee on urban affairs. Vijoo Krishnan is the general secretary of the Kisan Front.

The Secretariat has taken up some long-pending matters concerning the Party Centre functioning and its various departments. It has also sought to follow-up on decisions taken by the PB/CC on calls given and other organisational decisions. However, there is much scope for improvement in the work of the Secretariat. To strengthen Secretariat as a unit, it has been decided that there should be reports of political decisions taken by PB and discussions in each meeting.

More efforts are to be made to integrate the Secretariat with the political-organisational work of the Party Centre. The composition of the Secretariat should be aligned with the implementation of the political and organisational tasks.

Additionally, the functioning of the CC office must be revamped to meet the current needs of the movement.

Other CC Members at Centre: There are nine other Central Committee members – K. Hemalata, Swadesh Dev Roye, A. R. Sindhu, S. Punyavati, Mariam Dhawale, K.N Umesh, R. Karumalayan, B. Venkat and Vikram Singh – working from the Centre.

Hemalata, Swadesh Dev Roye, A. R. Sindhu, K.N. Umesh, R. Karumalayan are working at the TU Centre. Hemalata is President of TU front and member of education sub-committee and agit-prop department. S. Punyavathi and Mariam Dhawale are working at the Women’s Front Centre. Mariam Dhawale is the general secretary of the women’s front and convenor of the Central IC. A. R. Sindhu and Vikram Singh are members of the Central IC. B. Venkat, general secretary and Vikram Singh are working at the agricultural workers’ union centre.

Other than the Central Committee members working at the Centre, all CC members are concentrating in their respective states.

Work of the Central Committee

The Central Committee met 14 times during this period including one online meeting. This shows that the CC met once in every two and half months. Apart from the regular discussions on political developments, it drew a timeline for the implementation of the tasks decided in the 23^rd Congress. One meeting was held for discussion on the document on rectification.

Following the decision of the 23^rd Party Congress to carry out periodic review of the mass fronts, the CC reviewed the work of TU, youth and agricultural workers’ fronts.

The review of the work in Kisan front could not be completed due to the untimely demise of General Secretary, Sitaram Yechury.

There are 13 units directly under the Central Committee with 73 members.

The agenda and method of discussions in the Central Committee meetings need to be changed. At present, the main agenda of CC meeting is a report on political developments, on which there is a general discussion which takes up the bulk of the time. The time left over is taken up for some peripheral issues. There is not enough time devoted to discussion on organisational work and review of struggles and campaigns. There is also the need for periodic review of work on mass fronts. Given this, the agenda and time allotted for discussions must be suitably changed.

Hindi-Speaking States: Three meetings of Hindi-speaking state secretaries were held during this period.

In the first meeting held in August 2022, after the Party Congress, the agenda of implementing the tasks of the Party Congress was taken up. Along with it, a special discussion was held on the status of the student front in this region.

The second meeting held in March 2023, reviewed the implementation of the Party Congress tasks. It also focused on planning our activities to combat the Hindutva communal forces. The meeting also discussed the implementation of the rectification campaign in these states and the circulation of Loklahar.

The third meeting held in September 2023, discussed the condition of whole-timers on the basis of the reports received from the states as a reply to the questionnaire sent from the Centre. It also discussed the utilisation of assistance provided by the Centre for the purpose of whole-timers and expanding our movement in the tribal areas.

The need for expansion and growth of the party in Hindi speaking states acquires added importance in the present context of the danger posed by Hindutva communal forces.

State committees, with the help of the Party Centre, should prepare plans to expand the growth of the Party and mass organisations in new areas and sections. All India centres of the Party and mass organisations should extend all help in the realisation of those plans.

Sub-Committees

The following sub-committees are functioning under the CC: (1) Organisation Sub-Committee (2) Trade Union Sub-Committee (3) Agrarian Sub-Committee (4) Women’s Sub-Committee and (5) Education Sub-Committee. Apart from these, there is a finance sub-committee; two departments – international department and Agit-Prop department; history commission and urban affairs committee.

Organisation Sub-Committee

Organisation Sub-Committee consists of six PBMs and two CCMs. It has met three times after the 23^rd Congress. It has prepared a Note on conducting the annual renewal of membership and also submitted the scrutiny report of membership renewal for 2022. The sub-committee also prepared the guidelines on the issue of whole-timers which was adopted by the Polit Bureau. There has to be an improvement in the regular meetings of the committee.

Party Education

The Party Education Sub-committee met seven times and developed a standardised syllabus. Notes covering 22 topics across seven subjects were prepared and used in teacher training classes held at EMS Academy, Thiruvananthapuram, and HKS Surjeet Bhavan, New Delhi. 319 comrades participated in these schools held in October 2022.

A separate training school was later organised for Hindi-speaking states with slight modifications in which 92 comrades participated.

The effectiveness of these schools was reviewed positively, and the Notes were updated based on discussions and questions from participants. Many state committees translated these Notes into their respective languages for broader use. A special Note on the RSS, detailing its structure and threats, was also prepared and widely translated. However, incorporating regional variations in RSS activities remains a challenge due to insufficient studies by state education sub-committees.

As per the decision of the 23^rd Congress, the permanent Central school, at the HKS Surjeet Bhavan in Delhi became operational and was used for Party education. Teacher training schools in English and Hindi, schools for women, students, agricultural workers, kisan and activists working in the dalit platform and also various trade union fractions, were held. Three central-level, three-day school-cum-workshops were held for science, cultural, and urban activists.

Despite efforts to educate all Party members in at least five core subjects along with a subject on RSS, only 50 per cent of members were covered. Only in Kerala all the members were covered. Expanding participation remains a priority.

Political schools for cadre, including branch secretaries and local committee members, were organised across states. However, attendance remains inconsistent, necessitating stronger efforts. Permanent schools exist in Kerala, West Bengal, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh, with new institutions planned in Tamil Nadu and Assam. States are encouraged to establish permanent schools or ensure regular political education initiatives.

Agit-Prop

The Agit-Prop Committee, formed after the 23rd Congress, functioned primarily through online meetings. It published 13 booklets. They were: Savarkar ka Sach (Hindi), Ukraine mein Amrika ki lagaai gai aag, Bharat @75, Jab Kisan Uth Khada hua, Bursting the Adani Balloon, Adani ka gubbara phoota, Attacks on Christian tribals in Chhatisgarh, Chhatisgarh mein Isai aadivaasiyon par hamla, RSS va Hindutvavadi taakaton ka khatra, The danger of RSS and Hindutva forces, Israel’s war against Palestine, Filistin par Israel ka hamla, Sitaram Yechury: Outstanding Communist, Sitaram Yechury: Asaadharan Communist. Each booklet was distributed digitally for translation and regional adaptation.

Additionally, a seven-part series on Party education and a booklet on RSS dangers were published. During the last Lok Sabha elections, the Committee released ‘Talking Points’ and 18 Notes on BJP policies covering education, health, employment, science, and environment. These materials were extensively used, particularly in Hindi-speaking states.

Despite increased sales and better recovery of dues, the overall print circulation did not grow significantly. Improving distribution and gathering state-level data on publications reach remains a challenge.

Party Dailies and Publications

From the Party Centre, we are regularly publishing Peoples’ Democracy and Loklahar. At present Peoples’ Democracy is being published from Delhi, Kolkata, Kochi, Agartala and Chennai. Recently it was decided to publish Peoples’ Democracy from Vijayawada too. However, efforts to restart its publication from Hyderabad did not succeed.

In spite of repeated appeals the circulation of both Peoples’ Democracy and Loklahar are witnessing a continuous decline. In 2022, Peoples’ Democracy had a circulation of 5,611, which fell to 5,282 in 2024. The fall is very steep in Kerala and Tamilnadu, where our movement is strong. In Andhra Pradesh the subscriptions have reasonably increased. There are 200 online subscribers for Peoples’ Democracy. This should be increased.

The circulation of Loklahar fell from 4,438 in 2022 to 4,288 in 2024. Again it is in states like Bihar, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan where we have a relatively stronger movement that the subscriptions have declined.

Serious efforts have to be made to increase the circulation of both Peoples’ Democracy and Loklahar. The publication of dailies and weeklies/fortnightlies in vernacular languages cannot be a reason for the declining subscriptions of both Peoples’ Democracy and Loklahar. It needs to be reiterated that the content and purpose of Peoples’ Democracy and Loklahar, is different from the dailies we are publishing. Though certain articles and editorials of Peoples’ Democracy are currently translated and reproduced in the dailies, this is not a substitute for Peoples’ Democracy.

The regular publication of Marxist, the theoretical quarterly of the Party is to be ensured. During this period 11 issues of the Marxist were published.

In West Bengal Marxbadipath, in Kerala Marxist Samvadam, in Telugu Marxist, in Tamilnadu Marxist theoretical monthlies are being published.

There are six dailies in various states that are run by the Party. They are Deshabhimani (Kerala), Ganashakti (West Bengal), Daily Desharkatha (Tripura), Nava Telangana (Telangana), Prajasakti (Andhra Pradesh) and Theekkathir (Tamilnadu).

Apart from Deshabhimani, the circulation of the other dailies needs to be increased. The circulation of Theekathir has improved in this period. State reports indicate that even all our Party members are not subscribers to these dailies. The reach of these dailies at the most is only around a third of our membership and this is a matter of great concern.

Apart from the dailies, the Party has weeklies or fortnightlies published in West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Odisha. These publications too are not reaching all our Party members. The Party also has nine publishing houses across different states.

Efforts should be made to improve the content and language of our Party publications in order to ensure that they are appealing to the present generation, without compromising on the quality. The online and digital presence of our publications has to be increased and strengthened.

Special campaigns for increasing the circulation should be one of the important tasks that needs to be undertaken by the entire Party.

Media

The role of media and communication has grown tremendously in recent times. Large corporations and businesses control print, electronic, internet, cinema, TV, entertainment, and social media industries, using them both as profit-driven enterprises and as platforms to propagate ruling-class ideology. Countering the influence of reactionary media has become crucial for the revolutionary movement.

To address this challenge, it is essential to develop strategies and methods suited to the current situation, aligned with our capacities and resources. To achieve this, a study group of experts can be asked to analyse the media landscape and provide necessary guidelines for our work in this field.

Social Media

Since the last Party Congress in 2022, the Party’s social media work has expanded significantly in scope and quality of content. Reporting from the states has improved and the Party’s social media handles are responding more promptly to political and social issues. Many of the states have also improved their presence on social media. Our impact picked up particularly in the run-up to elections, both in terms of frequency, quality and reach.

Despite these improvements, there has been only a minor increase in the overall follower base of our social media handles in the past three years. The following table summarises the growth of our follower base since the last Party Congress.

Year	Facebook	Twitter	Instagram	YouTube
2022	5,34,000	4,24,000	1,10,000	8,036
2025	5,56,259	4,69,896	1,66,812	21,941

A major reason for the slow growth is the change in the algorithms of these platforms which reduces the reach of organic or unpaid content. It has become very difficult to reach out to new users on these platforms without resorting to paid pushes. Our follower base has more than doubled on YouTube, though we started from a much smaller base. Videos are one of the formats that we can use to reach more people. However, we have been unable to produce videos on a regular basis for YouTube and other platforms due to the lack of comrades with high-end video editing skills.

In the past four years, the Central social media team has conducted workshops with many state teams. The states include: Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Rajasthan. Apart from this, an all-India technical workshop on social media, AI and digital tools was held for members of the CPI(M) state social media teams in February 2024.

A team comprising four members worked full time for more than a year at AKG Bhavan for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This team was able to produce high-quality content during the Lok Sabha elections, as well as systematise the posting of updates from states.

The Central social media team also assisted in creating and organising election surveys in Tripura and two assembly constituencies in Rajasthan. It also set up an online survey for West Bengal.

The Party website – cpim.org – was redesigned and the new look website launched in 2023.

Centre-state coordination was one of the major concerns for social media work in the past. While state teams are sending reports in a more systematic manner than before, gaps remain in terms of frequency and coverage of struggles.

Path Ahead: Considering the restraints placed by social media platforms due to algorithmic changes, our work has to be more focused on video content production and on specific platforms such as Instagram and YouTube. We also need to work further on spearheading social media campaigns on people’s struggles and the resistance to Hindutva.

Another pressing task is setting up a WhatsApp network so as to ensure better distribution for our posters and videos. A few states have such networks but they are not integrated with a national network and there is no systematic two-way distribution of content. Social media should not be used to discuss the Party’s internal matters. In this regard, the Polit Bureau’s guidelines formulated in 2017 have to be implemented by Party committees and followed by all Party members.

Urban Affairs Work

The Committee on Urban Affairs was established to strategise and expand party influence in urban areas. However, it met only four times and could not function regularly. The cadre looking after the urban work was relieved midway without any replacement. While urban committees were formed in several states like Kerala, West Bengal, Tamilnadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana, their activities remained inconsistent.

A three-day workshop was held in August 2023, in which 75 members from 19 states participated. On the basis of this workshop, a booklet outlining challenges in urban areas and strategic steps needed to be undertaken for Party building was published. However, follow-up initiatives, such as organising similar state-level workshops and launching a newsletter, remained unfulfilled. Two online seminars on urban issues were conducted, aiding understanding but lacking sustained momentum.

International Department

The international department met 11 times. We are part of the Solidnet and are regularly attending International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties. Despite ideological differences among communist parties on issues like social contradictions, nature of existing socialist counties, joint and coordinated actions were taken on issues such as solidarity with Palestine and Cuba and opposition to imperialist aggression.

The Party played a role in the peace and solidarity movement, initiating protests against the Israeli aggression on Palestine. However, broader campaigns against imperialism fell short. Our involvement in the peace and solidarity movement has increased during this period. We need to overcome obstacles and patiently work to take along broad sections of the society, cutting across party lines, to strengthen the peace and solidarity movement throughout the country.

With escalating US aggression under the Trump administration, particularly against Cuba, the Party should take an active role in mobilising resources. We have to take the initiative to form broad-based state level Cuba solidarity committees, similar to the existing committee at the all India level. Solidarity with Cuba and Palestine will be the major tasks for the Party in the coming period.

History Commission

Work on the Second Volume of the Party’s history (1933-1951) commenced, but could not be completed due to incomplete collection of material from some states. Given increasing attacks on historical narratives from the Sangh Parivar, the Second Volume should be published by the end of 2025.

Parliamentary Party

We have four MPs in the Lok Sabha and four in the Rajya Sabha. Our reduced strength is having an impact on our interventions in the parliament, more so, when the government itself is not allowing the parliament to function. However, our members are trying their best to raise peoples’ issues in the House. Our MPs teams visited places where communal and casteist attacks took place and interacted with the victims’ families. The work of the parliamentary office and support for our MPs needs to be strengthened to enable more efficient functioning of our MPs.

Funds and Accounts

The Finance Committee has been meeting whenever required. Getting the consolidated accounts from the states is a strenuous and complicated task. State committees should understand the importance of maintenance of proper accounts and allot proper personnel for keeping accounts. In spite of the various obstacles created by the government, our Party is regularly submitting its accounts after getting them duly audited.

However, the statement of accounts is not placed before the Central Committee annually, as specified in the Constitution.

The Party has been stressing the importance of proper maintenance of Party accounts and observance of guidelines. The 2009 Rectification Document gave some directions on fund collection and also maintenance of Party accounts.

State committees have to formulate guidelines about fund collection, expenditure and disbursement of funds within six months and ensure that they are implemented scrupulously. Auditing of accounts should be regularly conducted. These directions need to be strictly implemented at all levels.

3. Mass Organisations and Fraction Committees

Mass Organisations: The objective of developing mass organisations as democratic and independent platforms for the broad masses has not been properly implemented, even after many years. Weaknesses on this aspect persist.

The formation and proper functioning of basic units is essential to improve democratic processes, involve members, develop local leadership, attract advanced elements among the masses, address local issues, maintain contacts with the masses and understand the public mood. All India centres should focus their attention on strengthening basic units rather than exclusively on membership enrollment.

A primary reason for the failure to develop the independent functioning of mass organisations is that Party committees do not place enough emphasis on the functioning of fraction committees and sub-committees separately and independently to fulfill their assigned responsibilities. This failure is not due to the mass organisations themselves but rather the shortcomings of the Party leadership.

Work methods should encourage people to become pro-active participants in movements rather than passive spectators. It is crucial to avoid media-driven forms of agitational work that result in mere tokenism.

Fraction Committees and Sub-Committees

Implementing the tasks set forth in the Party Congress is the fundamental duty of sub-committees and fraction committees at all levels. The Polit Bureau and other leading Party bodies should regularly guide them in fulfilling their Party responsibilities. They have to review the work of these committees and mass organisation centres annually. To improve the work of the Fraction committees, the Party could organise workshops for fractional committee members at various levels every year.

TU sub-committee: The TU sub-committee met 9 times. It is meeting at regular intervals and trying to discharge its responsibility in guiding the work of the trade union front. Among the major tasks undertaken in these meetings, are review of major struggle programmes taken up from time to time, preparing the document on review of our work in the trade union front, review of our work in the Railway sector for further initiatives, besides problems – both organisational and movement related – encountered in various sectors and also in the united movement at the national level. Apart from the central TU fraction committee, there are 18 sectoral fraction committees. The central TU fraction met only twice during this period. It should meet more regularly in the coming days.

Agrarian sub-committee: The Agrarian sub-committee met 5 times. It has reviewed the conferences of both the Kisan and Agricultural workers’ fronts, planned Party education, decided on the tasks after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, formed fraction committees for both the fronts and finalised reports of both the fronts for the 24^th Congress. The sub-committee also discussed about Party building, whole-timers and joint actions of the three class fronts.

Women’s sub-committee: The Women’s Sub-Committee met 7 times in this period. The main discussions related to (1) Party building (2) any policy or organisational issues regarding the mass front or Party (3) submission of notes to the PB on any of the above. The Central Fraction Committee met twice in three years. The central FC should meet at least twice a year. The Perspective Document on Women adopted by the CC (2005) needs to be updated regarding the statistical profile. The document has been more reported in this period but still has not been included as an essential subject in the Party syllabus. This should be done.

Youth and Student committee: There are separate all-India fraction committees of youth and students. The student fraction met nine times and youth fraction met 14 times during this period. The youth fraction discussed the conduct of youth front’s all-India conference.

The Cultural fraction met 4 times. The fraction committee for Dalit platform met 8 times during the last three years, which is not sufficient. In spite of some efforts, we were not able to get a cadre who could help in the functioning of the centre. State Party committees have to ensure that the work among social groups, especially dalits is carried on in accordance with Party’s perspective. The fraction committee for Adivasi platform met 5 times. Minority fraction committee met twice during this period. Science fraction met 4 times, while the IT and Free Software fraction met twice.

We could not constitute the fraction committee for the Disabled in spite of our efforts. This needs to be addressed. In many states, we are able to recruit good number of Party members from this section and hence it becomes all the more important to constitute the fraction and coordinate our activities.

Internal Complaints Committee

An Internal Complaints Committee was constituted at the Party Centre with five-members including one external member. A Note on ‘Guidelines and Procedures to Implement the Anti-Sexual Harassment Policy’ was prepared by the Polit Bureau and sent in May 2022. This Note provided the framework for the Party to constitute such committees at all levels to deal with complaints of sexual harassment that are reported within the Party.

Internal Complaints Committees were constituted in West Bengal, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and Delhi. The experience of these guidelines and their application in this period has to be reviewed.

IV. Areas that Require Additional Attention

Attracting the Young

Review reports from various states indicate that we are not able to attract more young people to the Party.

The Party’s appeal among the youth as a Party that is different from other bourgeois parties has to be established. Our political and ideological campaign has to appeal to the youth’s search for an alternative. As the Political Review Report has pointed: “An important aspect which is lacking in our political and ideological campaign is the propagation of the goal of socialism. The Left and democratic alternative that we talk about should be linked to socialism. This is all the more necessary to enhance our appeal to the newer generations, who have come in the period after the fall of the Soviet Union and setbacks to socialism….We have to self-critically accept that we have not done so and must rectify this in our future political-tactical line”.

The issue is not that youth have become passive or inactive; rather, we have failed to find suitable strategies to mobilise them. Young people are actively engaged in sports, culture, social media, social service, and a variety of other activities. When we implement well-planned and appropriate initiatives, our youth front can effectively mobilise them. For example, in Kerala, our youth front successfully raised Rs 20 crores through the sale of waste material for the Wayanad relief fund. Therefore, what we need is a comprehensive and multi-pronged approach to effectively connect with the younger generation.

A planned and systematic drive is essential to engage youth in public activities and recruit them into the Party through various mass fronts. We must identify the areas and activities that interest young people and engage with them using appropriate strategies. This should be an important and pressing task for the Party committees, sub-committees and fraction committees at all levels.

We find youth not only as students and unemployed but also as contract labour, informal workers, gig workers, migrant and rural manual labour, young women in sweat shops etc. Hence, the youth front alone may not be sufficient to reach all sections of young people. Therefore, it is the collective responsibility of all mass organisations, leaders, and cadre to formulate plans for youth engagement.

Immediate Importance of Trade Union and Student Fronts

Given the current weakening of the Party, trade union and student movements have become more crucial than ever. These fronts play a pivotal role in establishing a stronger presence in weaker areas. They also facilitate the expansion of our network to a broader base, making them instrumental in attracting youth and full-time activists.

These two fronts provide the foundation, strength, and resources necessary for other fronts to secure a mass base wherever possible. This does not mean neglecting other fronts; rather, the growth of trade union and student fronts should, in turn, support the expansion of other fronts into new areas.

Even now, the visibility of the Party in many weak areas and states is due to the activities of the trade union movement. The role of an organised and politicised working class in supporting the Party and mass movement can be understood from the recent experience of holding the Telangana state Party conference in Sangareddy, an industrial centre. From contributing funds and making arrangements to mobilising for the rally, workers from numerous factories took on the entire responsibility, demonstrating their commitment. Therefore, special attention must be given to these fronts.

Tribal Communities

Our support base among tribal communities remains largely intact across most states. However, if we are not cautious, we risk losing this base as well. Our continued strength in these regions stems from our unwavering commitment to their interests. However, the rise of communalism and identity politics among educated tribal members poses a potential threat to our movement.

5. New Areas of Work

To meet the challenges posed by the changes which were brought due to the impact of neoliberal policies on the socio-economic conditions and on the various classes, the Party had thought it necessary to establish new mass organisations and forums, including children’s organisations, basti organisations, residential colony/locality organisations in urban areas, rural workers federations, social service organisations, and pensioners’ associations etc. However no appreciable progress has been made. The Party has to take energetic steps to make things going.

Rural Workers

Our task of organising rural workers, other than the agricultural workers did not make much headway even after a decade.

The Central Committee’s direction to conduct a survey of rural workers was implemented only by Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh. However, Andhra Pradesh did not analyse the survey forms and consolidate the conclusions.

In the coming period, Party at all levels has to see that the task of organising rural workers gets sufficient attention and is accorded priority. Both the agricultural and rural workers fronts and the trade union front have to be involved in this work. This is all the more necessary to take up local issues and conduct class struggles in rural areas.

Residential Areas

Implementing the ‘Mass Line’ approach is not feasible in residential areas, without integrating our activities with people’s daily lives. Although the Party recognises the need for greater efforts in urban residential areas, progress remains slow.

To address this, Party committees must take the responsibility, to coordinate the relevant fronts and guide full-time activists working in these areas. Only through dedicated leadership and coordinated efforts can we achieve meaningful progress in these critical areas. Special attention should be paid to work in dalit bastis and colonies.

Middle Classes

Party has been emphasising the importance of our work among growing sections of the middle-class as Hindutva communal forces are increasingly able to draw them under their influence. Our traditional forms of TU work are not sufficient to ideologically influence them in the present situation. We have emphasised the importance of ideological work in these sections through citizen’s, cultural forums and apartment/residential welfare associations.

A majority of middle-classes are now from the services sector, which is highly diversified. Nearly 16 lakh professionals are working in the big-five companies in the IT sector. In order to organise these sections, Party needs to adopt different strategies.

Our IT branches in Bengaluru and Hyderabad are adopting different innovative methods like organising medical camps, tuition centres for the people etc. The IT employees union in Bengaluru took up labour issues of the IT and ITES employees and conducted many struggles even on other working class issues.

In many states, some isolated work with positive experience was done, but it was not scaled up to become a statewide movement. The Party has to prepare a plan for an effective intervention among the middle-classes.

Work among Children

Communal forces are spreading their poisonous ideology in the society by capturing young minds right from their childhood. They are utilising various kinds of cultural and other events to target children and their parents. This space should not be left to them. For this purpose, we have been emphasising the setting up of children’s organisations all over the country.

From the all India Centre, a workshop was organised in Thiruvananthapuram in October 2022, in which 126 comrades (54 females and 72 males) from 19 states participated. After the all India workshop, similar workshops were organised in many states. Initiatives were taken in Punjab, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Assam to form such organisations.

Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura have a good functional organisational structure for organising children. In Andhra Pradesh, efforts are being made to organise them in the name of children’s clubs and Balotsavs. In Tamilnadu and Karnataka, efforts were made to form children’s organisations and make them functional. But these efforts are not sustained and continued with a goal of consolidation. The form can be chosen according to the situation. The need for working among children needs to be understood by the Party committees at all levels, particularly when entry into many educational institutions is becoming difficult for our student organisation.

VI

The Political Review Report emphasised the need for building the independent strength of the Party to forge broad resistance against neoliberal, neo-fascist, Hindutva communal forces. In order to realise this, it called for developing sustained class and mass struggles, for organising broad-based ideological work, for fighting against the pernicious impact of parliamentarism and for planning for expansion. The organisational steps needed to put these directions into practice have to be worked out at all levels of the Party.

Unleashing Class and Mass Struggles

Party units at all levels must be oriented to mobilise the working class, peasantry and other sections of the working people and also to take up issues of gender and caste oppression and discrimination. An important aspect of this is to launch sustained local struggles and movements on class, social and mass issues until some demands are met. The efforts to improve coordination and joint activities between trade union, kisan and agricultural workers fronts have to be continued and deepened to carry forward united struggles.

State committees should provide concrete direction to district and intermediate committees, enabling them to identify local issues and take the initiative in organising sustained struggles and constantly monitor them.

A crucial step in implementing this strategy is enhancing the capacity of our branches and lower units to identify local issues and mobilise people for struggles. Branch secretaries, local mass organisation cadre, local committee members, and whole-timers must receive proper training to carry out this task effectively.

A thorough and concrete study of people’s conditions at the grassroots level is essential for initiating effective local struggles and campaigns involving mass mobilisation. To facilitate this, services of Trusts and knowledge centres and sympathetic intellectuals can be utlilised. Cadre also must undertake grassroots study to identify local issues that have the potential to mobilise people.

All India calls for protests and campaigns should be given with due care. Some protest calls may have to be given immediately but campaign calls must be given with time for adequate preparation. Nationwide campaigns without the parallel growth of local movements can become a burden, impeding, rather than fostering the overall growth in our movement. Currently, multiple calls are being given by the Party and mass organisations from the all India and state centres, often competing and overlapping with one another. As a result, our struggles and campaigns risk becoming formalistic and ritualistic, lacking genuine mass participation. The Party should intervene and coordinate through various fraction committees before giving such calls, ensuring that they contribute meaningfully to the overall movement.

Politicisation of Cadre and Masses

The Political Review Report had noted the lack of politicisation of the masses drawn into struggle by the working class and kisan fronts. A critical look at how the Party fractions and Party members are conducting political work among the mass of members in the mass front must be done and steps taken to do political work among the masses. Along with that, Party building must be undertaken by identifying those who can be in auxiliary groups and educating them. Further, as the Review points out, the Party must directly lead local struggles on class and mass issues, which will help the basic classes to identify with the Party.

Intensifying Ideological Work: To Combat Hindutva Communalism

To win over the masses, especially youth towards progressive and Left politics, a consistent and persistent ideological struggle is essential.

Given the current political context, the ideological battle against Hindutva communal forces is of utmost urgency. The central fraction committees too have not conducted a concrete assessment of the influence of Hindutva forces in their respective sectors and accordingly devise plans to resist them. The insurance fraction in Tamilnadu made some efforts in this direction, which was subsequently emulated by the central fraction of the insurance sector. Apart from this, no other fraction committee took such an initiative.

Seminars were organised exposing Hindutva communal ideology and the threat posed by it. Such seminars were conducted on behalf of the different study centres run by the Party in Kerala, by the Sundarayya Vignana Kendram in Telangana and Makineni Basavapunnaiah Vignana Kendram in Andhra Pradesh. In Tamilnadu our cultural groups brought out songs against communalism, apart from the seminars organised in the state. In Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi efforts were made to bring together different political parties, groups and individuals who are opposed to communal ideology and build a platform.

However, it needs to be accepted that our efforts are not sufficient to confront the ideological offensive launched by the Hindutva communal forces. We need to intensify our efforts by pooling all our resources to combat the ideological attack of the communal forces.

Expand Cultural Interventions

Work in the cultural sphere is crucial to counter the influence of Hindutva ideology. The Party has to expand its cultural interventions in a big way. For this, the cultural document prepared by the Central Committee has to be implemented by the state committees and the district committees. As part of the implementation of the directives outlined in the cultural document, a Central class for Party cultural activists was held in 2022. A bi-monthly online newsletter titled `Hum Dekhenge’ has also been launched. Mass organisations should also organise cultural activities and set-up cultural forums. Interventions in the cultural sphere must go beyond the Party’s influence and involve other progressive and democratic cultural forces and personalities. Cultural centres can be established and they can serve as hubs for mobilising cultural personalities and organisations, fostering broad-based, progressive joint cultural activities.

Steps to Counter Hindutva

The six activities and fields of work set out in the Political Resolution to undertake sustained struggle against the Hindutva communal ideology are to be taken up seriously for their implementation in the coming period.

• The Party at all levels should coordinate, strengthen and monitor all its forums and forces engaged in fully or partially ideological work. Science forums, literary organisations, cultural bodies, and influential cultural personalities should be involved and supported to expand their activities. Book publishing houses, knowledge centers, and trusts formed by the Party can provide infrastructure and promote various ideological initiatives.

• In our ideological work, special attention must be given to social and cultural activities in residential areas where Sangh Parivar activities are prominent. Activities to propagate scientific spirit and rational thinking among the masses especially children, students and youth through the science movement is important to counter the obscurantist, superstitious reactionary ideas of RSS. Forums should be developed in industrial clusters, major educational institutions, and residential areas using locally available resources.

• Sub-committees and fraction committees of mass organisations should actively develop and conduct ideological work, particularly through cultural initiatives in the concerned sections.

• The work of Agit-prop, political education, journals, and the cultural front should be synchronised to create a unified thrust in ideological work. Currently, different sub-committees and in-charges oversee ideological activities without adequate coordination.

• Training of human resources and the development of physical infrastructure at the state level are crucial for the success of ideological work.

Importance of Planned Work

The Political Review Report also pointed out the necessity of planning for the growth and expansion of the Party. It stated: “The Central Committee has to draw up plans for growth of the Party in every state where Party units exist. This plan should identify areas and fronts on which we should concentrate our work and resources. This should not be left to the states, but must be part of a centrally initiated plan”. We have to utilise the available cadre and organisational resources in a most effective manner taking into consideration the strength of the Party and other peculiarities of the concerned state. This direction should be taken up for implementation in a time bound manner.

Need to Combat Parliamentarism

The Political Review Report highlights the growing prevalence of parliamentarism within the Party. Reliance exclusively on electoral activities hinders the implementation of the political-tactical line aimed at building a mass base through class and mass struggles. It also affects the Party’s character, leading to ideological degeneration among cadres.

Parliamentarism manifests in various ways.

Reports from some states indicate increasing interest among Party cadres in contesting elections, sometimes in constituencies where the Party lacks a strong presence. Discontent arises when certain members are denied candidacy, leading to non-cooperation during elections. In some instances, cadres have even defied Party decisions, particularly in local body elections. Furthermore, there are cases of candidates resorting to financial expenditures and methods similar to bourgeois parties. Some have engaged in groupism/factionalism, prioritising electoral ambitions over organisational unity. There have been instances of parliamentarism and parliamentary opportunism in Maharashtra, Telangana and Rajasthan in the recent period.

Another aspect of parliamentarism is the disconnect between elected representatives and mass struggles specially in local bodies. Many focus solely on their electoral constituencies, neglecting organised Party activities.

The Kolkata Plenum had pointed out a wider dimension of parliamentarism and quoted from the 1996 rectification document of the Central Committee, which is as follows: “Parliamentarism is a reformist outlook that confines the Party’s activities to electoral work and fosters the illusion that the Party’s advance can be ensured mainly through fighting elections. This leads to the neglect of the work of organising mass movements, Party building and conducting the ideological struggle. Parliamentary and extra-parliamentary work have to be combined to strengthen the mass movements and the political struggle.”

One of the major reasons for the lack of local struggles on class and mass issues as pinpointed in the Political Review Report submitted to the Party Congress is parliamentarism, which seeks to conciliate with the dominant classes in the rural areas instead of launching struggles against them.

Given the prevalence of parliamentarism, emphasis must be placed on extra-parliamentary activities. A balanced approach between electoral and grassroots struggles is essential to build a strong Left and democratic alternative to the bourgeois-landlord system. Historically, the expansion of mass movements has contributed to increased legislative representation, not the other way around.

New challenges have emerged in the parliamentary sphere, particularly due to the neoliberal regime’s impact on politics and elections over the past two decades. The massive use of money in elections, corporate-driven campaigns, and the entrenchment of capitalist interests in political parties – down to the panchayat level – have significantly constrained the Left’s political space. Surrendering to parliamentarism in such conditions will only weaken the Party’s organisational strength.

There are other trends which harm the organisation and the adoption of a mass line like routinism, bureaucratism, subjectivism and liberalism. These need to be pinpointed and tackled.

Rectification Campaign

Given the mounting challenges confronting the Party, the newly elected Central Committee must plan the next phase of the rectification campaign, focusing on the trends of parliamentarism and other related issues and the political and organisational steps to counter such trends.

7. Tasks

The above review of the implementation of the organisational tasks flowing from the 23^rd Congress and the Political Review Report presented to the Congress taken together require the following tasks to be undertaken. Of these tasks, there are five tasks which must be taken up on a priority basis:

1. For improving the quality of Party membership, we should continue efforts to fully implement the five-point criteria for membership. There should be proper recruitment through auxiliary groups. This should be seriously implemented in the 2026 Party membership renewals.

2. Activisation of Party branches: Every state committee should fix a target of the number of branches to be activised annually. Along with the plan for training of branch secretaries, local committees/district committees must be equipped to undertake the same.

3. Planned drive to increase the youth membership in the Party and take the necessary political-organisational steps in this direction.

4. Party committees – from the Central Committee down to lower levels – should coordinate, guide and monitor all its forums and forces to undertake sustained struggles against the Hindutva communal ideology.

5. State committees and district committees must help local units and branches to take up issues for sustained local struggles. Concrete studies of issues at the grassroots level should be undertaken and on that basis, new tactics and slogans should be adopted, so that poor peasants and the rural poor can be mobilised for struggles against the rural rich nexus.

The other important tasks are:

1. Emphasis on organising workers of the modern manufacturing and key sectors and contract workers in the organised sector.

2. Planned drive to increase women membership in the Party, so that we achieve the target of 25 per cent of the total membership.

3. Continue efforts to cover all Party members under the basic education syllabus.

4. Concentrate work in selected tribal areas among adivasis in states with sizeable tribal population.

5. Rectification campaign to be organised by the Central Committee against parliamentarism and related issues.

6. Prepare plans state-wise to expand the growth of the Party and mass organisations in new areas and sections. This should be done in consultation with the PB/CC.

7. Initiate steps to organise rural manual workers through suitable organisational forms.

8. Expand activities in urban residential areas, especially in slums and bastis, apartments and lower middle class localities through decentralised and flexible forms of organisation.

9. State committees should continue to expand work of integrating social media use in the Party organisation.

A mid-term review of the implementation of these tasks shall be undertaken by the Central Committee.

Statement of Party Membership

(After 23^rd Congress)

Name of State	Membership
	2021	2022	2023	2024
Andaman & Nicobar	163	175	244	301
Andhra Pradesh	23,130	22,604	22,096	23,026
Assam	11,644	11,605	11,221	10,973
Bihar	19,400	19,617	19,786	20,221
Chattisgarh	1,344	1,355	1,408	1,383
Delhi	2,213	2,246	1,979	2,032
Goa	45	45	45	45
Gujarat	3,724	3,803	3,824	3,869
Haryana	2,191	1,999	1,941	2,016
Himachal Pradesh	2,205	2,212	2,029	2,056
Jammu & Kashmir	1,660	1,692	2,030	1,886
Jharkhand	5,185	5,289	5,224	5,505
Karnataka	8,052	8,037	8,596	8,704
Kerala	5,27,174	5,74,261	5,67,123	5,64,895
Madhya Pradesh	2,608	2,561	2,163	2,158
Maharashtra	12,807	13,374	13,691	14,406
Manipur	451	501	714	827
Odisha	3,647	3,448	3,352	3,465
Puducherry	—	—	786	812
Punjab	8,389	8,410	8,429	8,699
Rajasthan	5,218	5,609	5,464	5,232
Tamilnadu	93,982	92,349	91,422	93,823
Telangana	32,177	38,581	39,395	38,143
Tripura	50,612	49,386	44,381	39,626
Uttarakhand	1,451	1,455	1,507	1,519
Uttar Pradesh	5,368	5,257	5,064	5,146
West Bengal	1,60,827	1,54,322	1,57,047	1,58,143
CC Centre	90	89	96	98
Total	9,85,757	10,30,282	10,21,057	10,19,009

Membership of TU Front

(After 23^rd Congress)

Name of State	2020	2021	2022	2023
Andaman & Nicobar	6,454	6,572	7,557	8,393
Andhra Pradesh	4,50,050	4,89,165	3,92,969	4,13,147
Assam	96,110	1,01,093	1,01,215	1,03,250
Bihar	11,680	52,771	31,008	20,150
Chattisgarh	18,587	23,071	25,596	28,696
Delhi	26,200	20,878	19,126	17,191
Goa	145	151	392	—
Gujarat	17,391	20,621	28,252	32,709
Haryana	55,455	65,240	48,776	55,014
Himachal Pradesh	45,761	48,965	46,551	31,230
Jammu & Kashmir	4,474	13,306	13,270	8,630
Jharkhand	51,143	56,564	67,963	23,724
Karnataka	2,16,307	2,54,420	2,20,829	2,04,543
Kerala	23,84,727	27,45,343	30,04,886	31,06,762
Madhya Pradesh	45,085	46,252	46,936	44,113
Maharashtra	1,69,735	1,74,843	1,72,591	1,73,394
Manipur		14	—	—
Mizoram		—	2,556	—
Odisha	71,041	67,361	63,674	56,978
Puducherry	3,701	4,416	3,819	4,699
Punjab	53,598	63,077	84,219	87,598
Rajasthan	56,732	59,713	55,443	55,767
Tamilnadu	5,43,457	5,44,341	5,21,754	5,05,136
Telangana	1,50,533	2,70,636	2,44,012	2,09,225
Tripura	86,152	94,473	97,024	89,107
Uttarakhand	12,559	14,890	17,511	18,950
Uttar Pradesh	14,975	16,326	18,619	17,690
West Bengal	9,25,995	10,58,782	9,82,560	10,25,431
Total	55,18,047	63,13,284	63,19,108	63,41,527

Membership of Kisan Front

(After 23^rd Congress)

Name of State	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24
Andaman & Nicobar	455	500	900	2,300
Andhra Pradesh	1,32,140	1,73,159	1,66,120	1,57,518
Assam	66,506	1,07,915	1,30,246	1,10,062
Bihar	1,25,194	2,64,910	2,82,583	2,81,572
Chattisgarh	4,012	12,075	13,169	9,110
Delhi			2,219	2,238
Goa			167	138
Gujarat	41,239	50,198	47,697	50,600
Haryana	28,540	48,851	54,311	56,400
Himachal Pradesh	27,093	30,000	23,810	31,008
Jammu & Kashmir	30,000	25,000	40,000	39,276
Jharkhand	48,630	57,392	79,028	1,08,280
Karnataka	89,301	1,66,935	1,40,184	1,32,298
Kerala	52,60,505	57,76,682	63,05,781	67,70,940
Madhya Pradesh	21,374	31,536	44,552	49,333
Maharashtra	1,85,656	3,09,544	2,93,243	3,00,476
Manipur	785	1,441	1,966	2,221
Odisha	41,615	54,966	69,650	53,015
Puducherry			5,350	5,750
Punjab	78,249	85,250	90,705	1,18,080
Rajasthan	1,76,046	3,28,505	2,51,843	1,12,101
Tamilnadu	5,76,391	8,00,146	8,16,466	9,82,394
Telangana	2,75,015	4,02,115	4,23,286	4,24,398
Tripura	2,56,626	2,45,722	2,36,980	1,70,008
Uttarakhand	11,986	16,120	10,352	10,582
Uttar Pradesh	1,95,220	2,51,586	2,16,066	2,22,500
West Bengal	40,68,922	44,38,175	46,22,685	44,85,584
AIKS Centre	13	12	12	12
Total	1,17,41,513	1,36,78,735	1,43,69,371	1,46,88,194

Membership of Agricultural Workers Union Front

(After 23^rd Congress)

Name of State	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24
Andhra Pradesh	4,77,155	4,84,156	4,91,893	4,97,655
Assam	—	—	2,326	2,420
Bihar	1,35,042	1,42,108	1,43,495	1,14,273
Haryana	21,542	26,782	17,510	21,040
Jharkhand	3,227	4,125	—	—
Karnataka	2,28,194	3,02,671	3,23,175	3,39,875
Kerala	25,03,380	25,60,237	26,47,970	27,07,404
Madhya Pradesh	1,109	1,600	3,782	4,782
Maharashtra	58,018	60,177	70,664	62,282
Odisha	18,200	21,180	22,400	20,380
Puducherry	—	—	7,000	10,000
Punjab	2,30,600	2,23,187	2,54,392	2,37,424
Rajasthan	31,700	32,907	33,209	34,771
Tamilnadu	4,47,103	6,13,825	6,80,521	7,31,114
Telangana	9,11,516	11,04,006	11,49,548	10,25,561
Tripura	96,646	1,06,060	1,05,060	81,648
Uttar Pradesh	1,31,568	1,68,244	1,78,071	2,00,008
West Bengal	15,10,031	17,05,573	18,29,910	15,36,935
All India Centre	7	6	6	6
Total	68,05,038	75,56,844	79,60,932	76,27,578

Membership of Women’s Front

(After 23^rd Congress)

Name of State	2021	2022	2023	2024
Andaman & Nicobar	—	—	250	250
Andhra Pradesh	1,67,497	1,88,760	2,08,852	2,17,329
Assam	52,591	59,084	83,431	80,707
Bihar	68,524	40,000	37,906	41,000
Chattisgarh	2,100	—	—	450
Delhi	50,810	44,199	44,943	31,273
Gujarat	8,544	10,304	6,520	16,571
Haryana	34,000	28,160	32,668	35,000
Himachal Pradesh	12,142	11,240	6,747	7,792
Jammu & Kashmir	—	—	—	700
Jharkhand	65,460	49,000	43,020	48,621
Karnataka	87,869	89,082	94,640	90,031
Kerala	54,50,944	56,90,296	59,32,863	59,87,483
Madhya Pradesh	12,750	12,332	7,095	9,766
Maharashtra	1,07,478	1,11,412	1,15,227	1,18,147
Manipur	2,859	4,119	1,153	2,117
Odisha	30,075	29,000	29,100	38,065
Puducherry	—	—	11,945	14,164
Punjab	20,106	16,250	18,000	21,560
Rajasthan	19,402	20,410	17,732	17,315
Tamilnadu	7,15,490	6,74,200	6,83,755	7,04,960
Telangana	2,40,000	3,23,000	3,20,000	3,53,000
Tripura	1,35,656	1,37,798	95,740	1,10,264
Uttarakhand	6,705	7,576	3,385	4,655
Uttar Pradesh	39,600	41,148	43,444	45,338
West Bengal	23,00,514	24,66,684	25,10,328	25,24,884
Total	96,31,116	1,00,54,054	1,03,48,744	1,05,21,442

Membership of Youth Front

(After 23^rd Congress)

Name of State	2021	2022	2023	2024
Andhra Pradesh	75,550	55,000	62,400	75,000
Assam	6,100	14,562	12,556	12,787
Bihar	40,115	48,144	44,400	44,700
Chattisgarh	1,200	—	—	—
Delhi	7,000	5,000	7,230	5,000
Gujarat	—	—	5,078	4,332
Haryana	5,206	3,442	3,500	3,300
Himachal Pradesh	2,661	1,713	1,678	869
Jammu & Kashmir	5,000	5,640	5,500	6,000
Jharkhand	40,745	40,090	—	—
Karnataka	17,051	32,029	24,300	20,507
Kerala	51,99,585	52,27,423	52,12,108	52,16,494
Madhya Pradesh	4,923	2,127	3,791	5,344
Maharashtra	1,58,807	1,44,500	1,53,408	1,37,823
Odisha	20,000	23,715	17,984	19,191
Puducherry	—	4,200	—	2,400
Punjab	45,000	42,600	40,000	43,800
Rajasthan	46,000	40,000	36,000	39,743
Sikkim	300	—	—	—
Tamilnadu	7,14,731	5,03,928	5,67,784	5,62,820
Telangana	1,20,816	1,21,800	1,30,100	1,42,550
Tripura	1,82,250	1,64,673	95,079	1,13,757
Uttarakhand	4,923	—	—	—
Uttar Pradesh	27,206	22,269	17,328	20,786
West Bengal	29,13,960	30,03,720	30,92,886	31,44,673
Centre	6	3	3	3
Total	96,39,135	95,06,578	95,33,113	96,21,879

Membership of Student Front

(After 23^rd Congress)

Name of State	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24
Andhra Pradesh	62,751	4,17,242	3,70,321	4,24,444
Assam	4,851	13,075	12,199	13,000
Bihar	12,705	12,000	14,922	12,005
Chattisgarh	—	—	870	721
Delhi	1,624	3,062	7,760	4,545
Gujarat	1,410	6,120	4,920	3,450
Haryana	3,370	2,670	5,789	8,265
Himachal Pradesh	5,218	15,604	16,172	15,038
Jammu & Kashmir	—	500	1,590	1,725
Jharkhand	—	425	613	520
Karnataka	25,036	33,000	39,118	32,000
Kerala	14,90,568	15,48,192	15,93,873	16,63,865
Madhya Pradesh	1,206	5,152	7,019	7,177
Maharashtra	4,400	30,013	34,341	35,165
Odisha	—	1,323	2,042	1,919
Puducherry	—	—	1,950	4,329
Punjab	—	1,565	750	—
Rajasthan	42,725	96,204	91,171	76,352
Tamilnadu	1,07,000	2,90,354	3,54,418	3,82,969
Telangana	30,000	5,12,684	4,17,965	512,684
Tripura	20,502	22,018	27,164	13,081
Uttarakhand	850	1,478	1,875	1,178
Uttar Pradesh	1,613	3,768	3,124	3,608
West Bengal	5,13,019	7,44,306	8,39,185	8,30,849
Progressive Students Forum	—		136	124
UK& Ireland	—	70	230	253
CEC	6	6	7	7
Total	23,28,854	37,60,831	38,49,524	40,49,273

Part-II

REPORT OF MASS FRONTS

Trade Union

The working class plays a crucial role in the struggle against the dangerous policies of the BJP government, which is backed by the corporate-communal nexus and the Hindutva fascist ideology of the RSS. Strengthening our influence within the working class by overcoming the persistent weaknesses in our work is imperative in the current political situation.

The last few Party Congresses have identified these weaknesses and provided directives for addressing them within the trade union front. These directives can be summarized as follows:

1. Strengthen movements in strategic organized sectors, including emerging high-tech industries, and expand into the unorganized sector.

2. Focus on expanding the scheme workers’ movement and politicizing union activists, given its grassroots reach.

3. Organize activities in residential areas to forge and strengthen our links with the urban poor.

4. Ensure independent and democratic functioning of unions by effectively activating union-level committees.

5. Take greater initiative in fostering worker-peasant unity.

6. Conduct planned and focused campaigns against communal divisive forces, particularly targeting RSS-led Hindutva communalism.

7. Enhance the political and ideological consciousness of activists and mass of the workers.

8. Intervene actively on social issues and combat social oppression.

9. Make consistent efforts to build the Party by strengthening Party sub-committees and fraction committees at all levels, with active involvement from concerned Party state committees.

10. Strive to unify the entire working class by reinforcing joint trade union activities.

The trade union front has been working to implement these directives during this period. The deepening capitalist crisis has led ruling classes to pursue aggressive neoliberal policies, restructuring employment relations. Regular employment is diminishing, while precarious jobs have surged. The Modi government’s policies promote the use of apprentices, trainees, and interns to replace regular and even contractual workers, posing a significant challenge for trade unions in organizing workers and developing the Party among them.

After securing a third consecutive term, the Modi-led government is aggressively pushing for the implementation of the new Labour Codes. The trade union movement must now prepare for intensified united resistance at national, sectoral, and workplace levels against these Codes, which impose conditions of virtual slavery on the working class. Already an initiative of organising a countrywide general strike on this issue has been taken.

The period also witnessed various State-sponsored activities and policies aimed at transforming the secular Indian State into a Hindutva Rashtra. These developments have a significant impact on working class consciousness, making it increasingly susceptible to the BJP’s communal hate politics, which fosters division and disrupts the unity of the working class. Therefore, the trade union front must take up the fight against communalism with utmost urgency and determination.

Major Movements and Struggles

Significant struggles, including strikes, were undertaken in various public sector industries – steel, coal, iron ore mining, petroleum, and ports – over wages, fixed-term employment, contract worker rights, and privatization. Many of these movements achieved partial success.

However, a key weakness persists: limited or non-participation of our own unions in some major PSU general strikes. This must be addressed through serious political-organizational interventions.

In the electricity sector, state and UT governments are aggressively promoting the privatization of Discoms and the introduction of smart meters with dynamic pricing. United struggles have temporarily pushed back these efforts in several states, with our federations playing a leading role. However, in Chandigarh UT, despite strong opposition from workers and the general public, privatization proceeded. Also, electricity workers’ joint platform has already announced a countrywide agitation, including sectoral strike. But, workers’ resistance alone is insufficient; active involvement of electricity consumers is essential. This requires active Party intervention.

In the private sector, medical representatives, road transport workers, jute workers, and others have led struggles, including strikes, against the adverse impacts of neoliberal policies on their jobs and working conditions, achieving some of their demands. Our unions have been at the forefront of these struggles. The month-long Samsung workers’ strike was a landmark, garnering international attention. The united workers’ struggle forced the Tamil Nadu government to withdraw its decision to extend working hours. In Karnataka, similar resistance has, for now, prevented the enforcement of increased working hours in major industries. In many parts of the country, Delhi-NCR, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and Tamil Nadu there were many significant struggles by the organised sector workers forcing many agreements.

Trade unions representing IT employees in Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu have conducted campaigns addressing increased working hours, work-life balance, and workplace sexual harassment. These campaigns have received strong responses from IT employees notably in Karnataka, mobilizing hundreds in protests. Industry-level groups have been formed in several major IT companies, with membership crossing 30,000—around half from IT employees and the rest from e-governance and IT-enabled service employees. The experience demonstrates that sustained organizing efforts can successfully integrate IT employees as a part of the class into trade unions and the Party.

Efforts to organize gig workers have begun in some states, with campaigns and demonstrations highlighting their demands. However, more dedicated efforts and cadre allocation are required to effectively mobilize this segment.

Scheme Workers

Sustained struggles by scheme workers led by us – particularly Anganwadi employees, ASHAs, and mid-day meal workers – have led to significant gains. The favourable atmosphere created by these struggles led to some legal victories that include Supreme Court judgments granting gratuity and Gujarat High Court rulings mandating regularization and minimum wages for Anganwadi workers. However, despite these successes, Party influence among scheme workers remains limited. Many workers remain aligned with the same political forces they oppose in union struggles led by us. Conscious efforts to integrate them into the Party have been made in some states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka but are lacking in others, particularly Hindi-speaking states. Even in strong states of the Party, recruitment efforts among militant workers are inadequate. Paying proper attention to build the Party in these unions by politicising the activists in them,will enormously help the Party to spread across the country especially in to rural areas.

Unorganized and Traditional Sectors

Efforts have been made to organize workers in unorganized and traditional sectors, including domestic workers, construction workers, textile and handloom workers, plantation workers, and beedi workers. However, membership in our trade unions has not increased significantly in these sectors. Leadership must be better equipped to address policy-induced challenges, formulate relevant demands, and mobilize workers accordingly.

Railways

Sustained efforts in the railway sector have yielded some progress. Two Unions led by us, won recognition in the recently held recognition elections. We could also retain our leadership position in an important Association despite RSS attempts to disrupt the organization. However, efforts must be intensified to expand our presence by utilising the growing disillusionment among railway employees on the recognized federations that have compromised with government policies.

Contract Workers

Efforts to organize contract workers have resulted in partial victories in various industries, including Bongaigaon refinery, BEML, Taldih iron ore mine and NHPC. However, regular worker unions in the private sector remain largely aloof from organizing contract workers, which remains a significant weakness.

Middle-Class Organisations

Unions representing state and central government employees, banks, BSNL, and insurance workers have continued their struggles against privatization, contractorisation, and pension reforms. The Old Pension Scheme (OPS) movement had electoral repercussions, compelling reformist unions to mobilize, despite their ultimate compromises. However, Party influence in this sector continues to decline. The government’s withdrawal of recognition from NFPE and AIPE Class III has caused a fear psychosis among central government employees’ movements. This challenge underscores the urgent need to strengthen Party presence within this sector.

Retired Employees

Pensioners’ organizations, some led by us, represent a significant but underutilized force. Retired employees possess experience and social influence, which should be harnessed, particularly in improving our work in residential areas and in some specific activities .

Analysis of TU Membership

Our membership stood at 6.31 million from 4,572 unions in 2023, with many states witnessing declines. One key reason is the failure of many affiliate unions to submit annual returns on time. However, 338 new unions with 92,231 members joined during this period, indicating organizational expansion into new areas.

Out of total 63.10 lakh membership of the TU front in 2023, 12.24 lakh members are from organised sector industries of which, 6.81 lakh is from private sector industries. However, membership among middle-class trade unions continues to decline.

Some Important Initiatives

Some new all India sectoral federations and coordination committees including all India federation of ASHA workers and facilitators, national coordination committees of Security Guards, Distillery and Breweries workers’ unions, Textile workers’ unions, Handloom workers’ unions, Tyre unions, Automobile, Auto components and domestic workers, were formed during this period.

Special emphasis was given to organise migrant workers and concrete tasks were formulated to build more effective coordination between dispatching and destination states for organising migrant workers.

All India TU centre has chalked out concrete tasks for the leaders/activists at different tiers of organisation to organise workers in the organised sector, including in the modern manufacturing industries in the private sector and serious efforts are being made to monitor implementation.

A national meeting of young worker-activists prepared a plan to organise young workers and develop leadership from among them.

Fight against Communalism

Accepting the criticism of lack of adequate attention in fighting communalism, especially RSS led Hindutva communalism, the TU front made some efforts to overcome it. A month long countrywide campaign against RSS communal divisive forces was conducted. The dangers of Hindutva communalism was included as a topic in the central trade union school for national level leading cadres. Various sectoral federations have taken up the issue for campaign among the rank and file. The all India fraction committee in Insurance front prepared a report on the increasing influence of communal/caste identities and RSS at different regions/divisions and formulated tasks to counter these. Similar efforts need to be made in other sectors and in all states and taken down to branch levels. Limiting to general political campaigns against communalism will not be sufficient to meet the communal danger. Trade Unions should involve in the day to day lives of people and involve actively in the social cultural life in the working class residential areas to confront the communal forces on their own turf.

Efforts to Raise Political Ideological Consciousness: Efforts were made by the trade union front to raise the political consciousness of its cadres at all levels. National level classes were held for leading cadres of the TU front, BSNL, state government and defence employees etc., several industrial federations and state committees of TU. However, these are highly inadequate.

Journals and other publications form an important part of our efforts to impart political ideological consciousness. Several journals, national, state level in local languages and sectoral level, are being published by the trade unions led by us, including those by the middle class organisations. In general, efforts are being made to use the journals to educate the workers. Concrete assessment needs to be made about their contribution in raising the consciousness of the workers in the concerned sectors.

Active Intervention on Social Issues and against Social Oppression: The intervention of the Trade Union front on social issues is mostly confined to taking up gender specific issues of working women. No planned initiatives were taken on the issues of social oppression of Dalits, adivasis, minorities etc., though many trade union cadres are involved in the Party led platforms/organisations addressing caste discrimination in states like Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh etc.

Working Women: Though specific issues of working women including sexual harassment, violence against women etc., were taken up from the platforms of unions led by us, weakness in recruiting Party members from militant working women continues in several states. There is also a tendency in some states to ignore working women cadres while considering women for recruiting into the Party as well as promoting to leadership positions.

Residential Areas: The weakness in taking initiative to develop organised activities in residential areas continues. This needs to be overcome particularly in view of the activities of the RSS led communal forces in mobilising people at their residential areas by involving themselves in the Residential Welfare Associations and other socio cultural activities. Retired employees and such others who can play a role in residential area activities should be involved in these efforts. Organised activities in slums, where large sections of unorganised sector workers reside, will help in getting contacts with them, create confidence among them on the strength of organisation and gradually draw them into trade unions. This needs to be taken up seriously in the coming days in coordination with the concerned Party committees.

Experience of Joint Trade Unions struggles

Though the other trade unions formally agree for joint actions including strikes, their participation, particularly in strikes has drastically reduced, including in sectoral strikes. But joint actions give us opportunities to reach out to their ranks. Instead of lamenting about their non-participation/poor participation in the strikes and other forms of struggles, we should reach out to their members with the demands, linking them with the anti-worker policies of the government. This alone will enable us to attract broader sections of workers beyond our organisational periphery towards our policies, expand our influence and strengthen our organisation. Only by taking concerted and conscious efforts to increase our independent strength by carrying out effective agitation and propaganda we will be able to safeguard the joint trade union movement and intensify the struggle against neoliberalism. We have to reorient ourselves in correctly implementing the united front tactics.

Worker Peasant Unity

The TU front continued efforts to build unity of workers, peasants and agricultural workers through issue based joint actions along with the peasant and agricultural workers fronts. The positive experience of the united actions of the joint platform of central trade unions and SKM and our key role in them is to be carried forward.

The national leadership of the three fronts has been meeting regularly, jointly formulating our common stand in the joint worker peasant movement and in sustaining it. Regular state, district and lower level meetings of the leadership of the three fronts to identify common issues and develop joint campaigns at grass root level will help developing deeper worker peasant unity.

Democratic and Independent Functioning

During this period, Trade Union front has made serious efforts to ensure democratic functioning of the committees and affiliated unions and to activate union level committees. There is some improvement but a lot still needs improvement.

Weakness in ensuring independent functioning of the organisation still continues.

TU Sub-Committee and Fraction Committees

The TU sub-committee met nine times. But, meeting of the Central TU fraction committee could be held only twice during this period. This weakness should be overcome.

Only half of the Fraction Committees of our various unions are functioning regularly. The other half needs improvement.

The decisions/understandings of the all India sectoral fraction committees should reach the Party members of the concerned sector without much delay. Proper mechanism is to be put in place for this purpose.

Severe weaknesses in the functioning of the TU sub-committees and fraction committees continue in most of the states, without any improvement. Party state committees should pay more attention to the functioning of these committees and guide them in developing the Party among different sections of the working class.

Review of the TU Front: The Central Committee reviewed the work of the Trade Union Front in its meeting held on October 29-31, 2022 and pinpointed certain weaknesses that are confronting our movement. It had also set a 10-point tasks for the TU front. One among them is to prepare afresh the ‘Tasks on Trade Union Front’ document in view of the major changes that took place in the sector since the 1983 document.

Party Building

Details from the recently concluded state conferences of the Party show that Party members from the Trade Union front comprise 48 per cent, the largest section of Party members. However, compared to the influence of the Trade Union front led by us and its membership, the influence of Party among the working class and even among the membership of the different trade unions led by us, is nominal. A huge effort is needed from fraction committees and sub-committees for politicisation of workers to consolidate our struggles into party influence.

Many Party leaders working in the Trade Union front do not take up this task with due seriousness. Regular and proper functioning of Fraction committees where Party development is regularly discussed, along with regular monitoring by the Party state leadership will alone enable this.

Important Tasks of TU front

1. Prioritize organizing workers in modern manufacturing and key sectors, along with contract workers.

2. Expand activities in residential areas, especially in slums and lower-middle-class localities, to counter communal propaganda and organise unorganized workers.

3. Strengthen work in sections of rural manual workers to spread our influence into the rural areas.

4. Develop plans to counter communal and reactionary ideologies among workers, integrating cultural and social initiatives in working-class areas.

5. Systematically enhance the political-ideological consciousness of cadres and militant activists through regular schooling and training.

6. Implement a planned Party recruitment effort from all unions and centres, ensuring representation from women, marginalized groups, and young workers.

7. Party committees should actively oversee and guide trade union sub-committees and fraction committees in implementing Party tasks.

8. Update the ‘Tasks on Trade Union Front’ document to reflect current realities and challenges.

By addressing these challenges and advancing these tasks, we can consolidate our struggles and expand our influence within the working class.

***

Kisan

The Kisan Front earnestly took up the tasks set before it at the 23^rd Party Congress. In the context of the victory of the historic farmers’ struggle of 2020-21, the 23^rd Party Congress had called for a conscious attempt to bring about a major reorientation in the style of functioning of the Kisan Front leaders and activists in identifying and launching powerful and sustained movements on burning issues of the peasantry.

In the last three years, there have been efforts to be more actively involved in the local campaigns at the grassroots as well as in struggles. The All India leadership has made a big effort to guide the states in this regard and there is a marked increase in their participation in identifying issues, campaigns, meetings and struggles. There was such an intervention in many states by the state leadership. But the concept of going to the villages, living amidst the peasantry and building struggles on burning local issues is not happening to the desired extent and uniformly across the country.

The issue-based united struggle against pro-corporate policies and decisions of BJP government and the role played by the Kisan Front has brought it wider acceptability attracting larger sections to such struggles. This can only be consolidated if it is accompanied by taking up consistent independent result-oriented local struggles.

Any over-emphasis on all India calls by relegating local struggles to the background or indulging in tokenism will lead to frittering away of the benefits of the former. The Kisan Front noted this and an attempt was made to strike the right balance, understanding the importance of both.

In the last three years, the Kisan Front could build independent and united struggles against the anti-farmer, pro-corporate, neo-liberal economic policies of the BJP-led government, launched campaigns against the communal, authoritarian and fascistic forces, and embarked on a determined drive to strengthen the organisation.

1. Independent Initiatives

Local Struggles for Land Rights and against Land Grab

The Kisan Front led sustained struggles across various states on burning peasant issues.

Karnataka: A massive sit-in protest was held on 11-12 February 2025 jointly with the Agricultural Workers’ Front. Ongoing struggles include a 1,100-day protest in Channarayapatna (Bangalore) and an 800-day agitation in Bellary against land acquisitions. In Tumkur, forest land cultivators continue the struggle braving repression.

Tamilnadu: Successful protests against land acquisition for high-tension wires, the GAIL Pipeline, and the Salem-Chennai 8-lane highway have forced realignment and higher compensation.

Maharashtra: Forest rights and land rights mobilizations, including two Kisan Long Marches in 2023, led to the granting of forest rights and a partial loan waiver.

Rajasthan: Success was achieved in securing crop insurance for farmers through struggle.

Kerala: A massive campaign, Fallow-Land Free Kerala, is underway starting with one Panchayat per district in the first phase.

Bihar: Ongoing land struggles focus on securing housing for the homeless and resisting landlord violence.

Greater NOIDA: The Kisan Front Centre could intervene in the 130-day militant struggle by farmers for fair land compensation. This helped Kisan Front to enroll membership in about 27 villages.

Parliament March against Wild Animal Menace

On 25 September 2024, a march to Parliament demanded amendments to the Wildlife Protection Act and opposed evictions due to Elephant Corridors and Tiger Reserves, which threaten traditional forest dwellers and Adivasis.

Crop-Based Mobilization

Efforts to mobilize farmers based on specific crops helped Kisan Front to expand influence beyond the traditional base. However, certain states remain hesitant about crop-specific mobilization.

Crisis of Rubber Farmers: A political and legal struggle was launched against the monopoly of the tyre cartel affecting rubber farmers. Major protests, including the Raj Bhavan March in Kerala and demonstrations at Apollo Tyres and MRF Tyres, drew thousands of participants. A Parliament March on 14 September 2023 was held. The Kisan Front intervened legally and conducted a ground-level study on cartel formation, prompting the Kerala government to launch an inquiry.

Issues Faced by Sugarcane Farmers: On 6 March 2023, sugarcane farmers from various states staged a protest in front of Parliament. Similar mobilizations and conventions were held in Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra. In Tamilnadu, the Federation has a strong presence across 43 sugar mills and successfully secured Rs 408 crore in arrears for farmers through legal battles and struggles.

Problems of Apple Farmers: A one-day protest of apple farmers was held at Parliament on 4 April 2023 to press for their demands The first Apple Farmers Federation Conference was held in January 2024.

Threats in the Cooperative Sector

The BJP-RSS, through Sahakar Bharati and Multi-State Cooperatives, is increasing its influence in production, processing, value addition, and marketing via Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) and companies. This poses a significant challenge, particularly in Kerala, where cooperative movements are well-established in the credit sector. Party should address this issue.

On Natural Calamities

Kisan Front contributed Rs 5 lakh each towards the relief efforts in Tripura, Assam, Tamilnadu and towards the Wayanad Relief Fund. The Kerala unit collected and contributed Rs 1 crore to the Wayanad Relief Fund. Office Bearers of the Kisan Front visited the flood-hit and landslide-hit States.

On Farmers’ Suicides

Increasing suicides of peasants and agricultural labourers as well as daily wage workers who are migrants from villages crossing over 4 lakh since 2014. Kisan Front leaders visited the families of farmers who committed suicide in West Bengal.

Solidarity with Tripura, Kerala and West Bengal

A Tripura Solidarity campaign was held across India from 10-20 May 2023 against widespread post-poll violence. A Kerala Solidarity campaign was held between 11-21 December 2024.

2. United Initiatives Of Class Fronts: Towards Worker-Peasant Unity

The Kisan Front, as well as the Trade Union and Agricultural Workers Fronts have been consistently making efforts to improve coordination between the three class fronts, to strengthen the unity of the workers and peasants and carry forward united struggles. This has however, not percolated below to the states and grassroots to the desired extent including in states where the Party has a relatively stronger presence.

Convention of Class Fronts and Mazdoor Kisan Sangharsh Rally

At the call of the Joint National Convention of the three Class Fronts was held at the Talkatora Stadium, New Delhi on 5 September, 2022, a joint campaign was carried out in most states very intensively and on 5 April 2023 the Mazdoor-Kisan Sangharsh Rally was held at the Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi with an impressive participation. Although the mobilisation was encouraging, it was way below our similar joint mobilisation in 2018.

8 August 2022 was observed widely as Anti-Corporate Protest Day in the districts, and on 14 August 2022 on the eve of the 75^th anniversary of independence a midnight vigil was jointly held widely.

A meeting of the Kisan and Agricultural Workers’ Front with the Electricity Sector Workers was held and solidarity as well as support to their struggle against privatisation was ensured.

Broad-Based Unity Initiatives

The historic farmers’ struggle of 2020–21 against the Modi government paved the way for growing coordination between the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and Central Trade Unions. Over the past three years, various campaigns and protests have reinforced this unity.

• August 2022: A week-long campaign (7–14 August) with Ex-Servicemen and Youth organisations exposed the BJP-led NDA’s anti-farmer and anti-youth policies, including Agniveer scheme.

• November 2022: Massive state Raj Bhawan rallies culminated in the submission of memorandums, preceded by state-level conventions involving central leadership.

• August 2023: The All India Kisan-Mazdoor Convention in New Delhi called for nationwide protests and a campaign against the BJP before the 18th Lok Sabha election. Tractor rallies saw significant participation across the country.

• March 2023: A Kisan Mahapanchayat at Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi, drew 20,000 participants, demonstrating solidarity with women wrestlers’ struggles.

• November 2023: A three-day Mahapadav (26–28 November) saw joint protests by worker and farmer platforms in most state capitals, barring poll-bound states. Maharashtra witnessed district-level actions.

• 16 February 2024: A nationwide Industrial Strike and Rural Bandh, with 1,49,454 participants across 2,563 centers in 391 districts.

• 23 February 2024 : A Black Day was observed to protest the killing of young farmer Shubhkaran Singh at the Punjab-Haryana border, with 47,870 activists at 1,412 centers in 215 districts.

• 26 February 2024: Tractor parades were held on national highways with the slogan “Keep Agriculture out of WTO.”

• March 2024: A Kisan Mazdoor Mahapanchayat at Ramlila Maidan saw significant turnout.

• January 2025: Large Kisan Mahapanchayats were held at Tohana, Haryana (4 January) and Moga, Punjab (9 January), countering government attempts to divide the movement and prop up alternatives to the SKM-led struggle.

Independent Activities

The importance of united struggles is being understood, but independent struggle is in some states taking a back seat. If not addressed we cannot advance and emerge as a credible leader of the united struggle. Incessant calls of the different platforms on the basis of issue-based unity have to a certain extent pushed our independent activities to the background.

In some states, there is routine implementation of the Central calls and calls by different platforms, but weakness in identifying and launching powerful independent sustained movements on burning local issues. Strengthening independent struggles is also crucial.

However, states like Kerala, West Bengal, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana, Karnataka have taken up independent activities on burning issues of the peasantry and also had result-oriented struggles.

3. Against Communalism

The communal hate campaign of the Sangh Parivar is percolating to all villages and the Kisan Front has conducted some campaigns against their divisive agenda. This must be strengthened and taken to the mass of membership. Only propaganda campaigns are insufficient to combat communal ideology. Kisan Front has to intervene at village level in the social and cultural life of the farmers with appropriate forms of activities to counter the influence of RSS ideology.

The Kisan Front is consistently intervening in instances of attacks by cow vigilante groups. The families of the victims were also helped financially.

Kisan Front and Social Issues

In different incidents of caste discrimination and atrocities on oppressed sections, Kisan Front has intervened in different states.

Kisan Front took up issues like Forest Rights, amendment to Forest Conservation Act etc., independently as well as with joint platforms. Displacement of tribals and traditional forest dwellers in the name of mining, developmental projects and violation of Forest Rights Act are going on in a big way. And they have to be taken up more seriously.

The criticism that there is inconsistency, and in some places even reluctance, in taking up such social issues at the lower levels is still valid.

Kisan Front participates in all the activities in support of women. Even in the latest Manipur crisis, the response has been timely and protests were widely observed. There is also a visible increase in participation of women in struggles. A large independent recent convention of women farmers in Maharashtra is notable.

Some states have also reported a new interest among youth who are drawn towards the Kisan Front especially in the aftermath of the victorious struggle against the three anti-farmer Acts. However, their representation in leading committees at all levels, there has not been satisfactory progress in most states. Some states have taken the initiative and Kerala has done quite well.

4. Strengthening the Organisation

Kisan Front Centres : Strengthening the functioning of the all India centre, state centres and district centres is a vital task. The all India centre has been strengthened with the inclusion of four new comrades, all from the Hindi-speaking states. The Kisan Front is providing a liveable wage to cadres working from the Centre. The functioning of state and district centres has improved.

Marked Increase in Membership: Since 2020-21, Kisan Front membership has increased consistently in all the four years. Nearly 30 lakh (29,47,681) increase has been achieved in four years, which is significant. It has succeeded in reversing the decline in membership that had been taking place during the last one decade. As per data collected in 2024, the Kisan Front has membership in 431 districts and in 57,180 villages. There are 108 districts which have membership which is more than 10,000 each.

However, the unevenness in membership continues. Kerala alone has 46.1 per cent members. The three strongest units of Kerala, West Bengal and Tamilnadu cover 83.3 per cent members. The remaining 24 units have only 16.7 per cent membership.

In the last six years, the membership of Hindi-speaking states has declined by 22 per cent. It must be reversed at all costs.

Consistent organisational consolidation and growth have taken place only in Kerala, Tamilnadu and Telangana. States like Punjab and Jharkhand have shown some improvement in membership in 2024-25. Rajasthan saw a big decline despite taking up regular struggles and also achieving results. Even in the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other North Indian states, while the general image of the Kisan Front has got a boost, that is yet to translate into concrete organisation.

Although special stress has been given to regularize the work of the village units, the progress is slow.

Independent and Democratic Functioning: In many states independent functioning of the Kisan Front is absent below the district level. In most states leaders of the Kisan Front also hold multiple responsibilities and are leaders of the Party. Although it is being insisted that Party secretaries should not hold key leadership positions in the Kisan Front, many districts are still having such a practice. Kerala, West Bengal, Tamilnadu, Tripura, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka have independent offices. The all India centre does not have an office of its own. In-charges going to states are spending adequate time and helping in addressing issues of the organisation and movement.

5. Party Building

Sub-Committees and Fraction committees

In many states sub-committees and fraction committees are not functioning regularly.

Party Membership: As per information collected in 2024, there are 1,96,442 Party members working in the Kisan Front (agricultural workers front not included except Karnataka) from 25 states. Overall, the number is likely to be over 2 lakh.

Party Education: The lack of political-ideological training and drawing newer sections into the Party is a matter of concern. Political education for Party cadre in the Kisan Front is nearly absent although there are regular Study Camps in all states at the mass organisation level. The Kisan Front organised a five-day all India Hindi camp for its leading Party activists at the Harkishan Singh Surjeet Bhawan in New Delhi from August 27-31, 2024. But this was perhaps the first time that a Party camp for Kisan cadres was held in Hindi at the all India level. This camp was attended by 109 activists from 15 states and it was appreciated.

Uttarakhand organised a Party class for Kisan Front cadre for the first time. In most other states while Kisan Front classes take place, Party classes are not being held.

Whole-Timers: In 2024, the number of whole-time functionaries in 25 states is 1093. The allowance sum ranges from Rs 1000 to Rs 23,300 per month. Absence of regular wage is an important feature in some states. Wage is mostly paid by the Party. The Kisan Front has chalked out plans for a whole-timer fund so that at least a minimum number of whole-timers in the weaker states can be given financial assistance.

Identifying capable cadre, grooming them and drawing them into the Party are not happening to the desired extent.

Bureaucratic and mechanical functioning as well as routinism will have to be overcome through a major reorientation in the style of functioning of the Kisan Front leaders and activists at all levels in tune with mass line. The state leadership in charge of districts should spend at least 10 days in the field, living in villages. The Kisan Front cadres and leaders should study the concrete situation, the contradictions, evolve appropriate slogans, and launch bold and sustained struggles.

Key Weakness

Not withstanding our appreciable work in many aspects, the weakness in mobilising poor peasants and rural poor still persists. How to overcome this key shortcoming should receive adequate attention from us.

Political review report explains this aspect as the following:

“We must seriously examine why we are not able to develop class struggles in the countryside based on poor peasants, agricultural workers and the rural poor. The updated Programme talks about the rise of a powerful nexus of landlords-rich farmers-contractors-big traders, who constitute the rural rich. We have not been able to mobilise the rural poor and sections of the peasantry to fight against the various forms of exploitation practiced by this rural rich nexus.

“It is, therefore, imperative that we further study the changes in the countryside and evolve new slogans and tactics based on uniting poor peasants-agricultural workers-rural poor to fight against the rural rich nexus on issues such as low wages, house sites, tenancy terms, exorbitant interest on loans, high charges for tractors, harvesters etc”. (Para 16)

The Agrarian Sub-Committee and Party committees at different levels must orient themselves to identify and take up issues which affect the poor peasants-agricultural workers and rural poor to mobilise them in the struggle against exploitation by the rural rich nexus.

Tasks

1. 1. 1. Sustained local struggles on burning issues and demands of the peasantry. To facilitate this, undertake in-depth study of the changes occurring in the agrarian scenario making appropriate changes.

      2. Overcome the key weakness of organising the poor peasants, agricultural workers and rural poor against the rural rich nexus.

      3. Strengthen the Kisan Front in weaker states, especially Hindi-speaking states.

      4. Plan for continuous ideological work against communal forces among farmers especially through social and cultural activities at village level and struggle against all forms of social oppression.

      5. Increase the cadre base of kisan front at grassroots level through regular political education and training.

      6. Build the Party among kisans especially poor peasants, youth and women. Steps should be taken to identify and promote youth and women among the leadership at all levels.

      7. Politically consolidate the struggles by conducting regular ideological work.

      8. Ensure that the main functionaries of the Front at all levels give priority to Kisan Front work.

      9. Strengthen the functioning of the Party sub-committees and fraction committees.

      10. Strengthening of basic units and democratic and independent functioning of the mass organisation.

      11. The new Central Committee should complete the Review of the Kisan Front at the earliest.

      12. Strengthen the joint activities of the three class fronts.

***

Agricultural Workers

Introduction

The 23rd Party Congress identified key tasks for the Party regarding agricultural workers Front. Party committees were instructed to focus on developing and strengthening agricultural workers’ organisation, allocating cadres to this front while providing wage assistance where necessary. They were also tasked with identifying critical issues such as land rights, housing, wages, and MGNREGA to facilitate local struggles. Additionally, they were directed to ensure the regular functioning of state-level sub-committees and district-level fraction committees, organise systematic schooling and training programmes for cadre, and address social issues affecting Dalits, Adivasis, and women, as part of the agricultural labour movement.

Over the past three years, significant progress has been made in implementing the Party Congress directives and the decisions of the front’s all India conference. The front has actively engaged in independent activities and struggles, while also developing joint platforms with other organisations. Various struggles addressing both economic and social issues have been successfully organised. Activities at the state level have intensified, leading to the expansion of the organisation into new districts and sections.

The Party Central Committee has reviewed the progress of the agricultural workers’ front and provided specific directives to improve its work. The functioning of the all India centre has improved, with regular meetings of the General Council and the Central Working Committee. Most state committees now convene regularly. However, challenges persist, particularly in strengthening primary units, organising large-scale class struggles, and mobilising effectively around local, issue-based struggles. Additionally, greater efforts are needed to deepen the politicisation of members.

All India Conference of the Front: The 10^th All India Conference of the agricultural workers front was held in Howrah, West Bengal, from February 15-18, 2023, with 684 delegates and 11 observers (575 male, 120 female).

Experience of Major Struggles

All-India mobilisations have been organised, both independently and in collaboration, to address central issues. Most activities have been in the form of campaigns rather than decisive mass struggles. Some of the key struggles conducted are as follows:

Land Struggles

Over the last three years, state units in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Bihar, and some areas of Uttar Pradesh have consistently conducted agitation on land issues.

In Telangana, land struggles took place in 13 centers, with agitational programmes for cultivable land held in 165 mandals. In Andhra Pradesh, struggles for house sites, cultivable land and against forcible land acquisition are ongoing in 181 centers across 18 districts. Tamilnadu is witnessing land struggles in 20 districts. In Karnataka, struggles occurred in six districts, including three conventions and a statewide agitation. In West Bengal, protests erupted against land grab by TMC goons in Sandeshkhali and the wrongful arrest of the state secretary. In Maharashtra, struggles took place against displacement from village common lands, with indefinite dharnas in two districts and mass mobilisations in Aurangabad and Nashik in 2024. In Bihar, struggles were organised against the state’s ‘Jal Jeevan and Haryali’ scheme, which threatens to displace people living near water bodies on government land.

Struggle for Forest Land

Struggles for forest land have been actively pursued across multiple states: In Tripura, joint struggles with the Kisan Front mobilised over 80,000 rural people demanding ownership rights over forest land. In Telangana, a joint agitation with Adivasi organisation is going on for rights over podu land in 266 centers across 14 districts. In West Bengal, the state committee is actively addressing forest land issues. In states where the Adivasi front is present, coordinated efforts for forest land rights continue.

Land struggles cannot be fought by the agricultural workers’ front alone; they require joint efforts with poor farmers. Party committees must assist in assessing the feasibility of different land struggles and adopting suitable forms of struggles.

Housing Struggles

The Kerala unit of the front launched a massive housing campaign, mobilising over 1.95 lakh people from 1,871 villages. The LDF government built homes for approximately 5 lakh families and provided pattas to many. In Tripura, similar campaigns involved 16,794 people. In Telangana, land occupations for housing continue. A dharna was organised in Hyderabad on February 9, 2023, by the Joint Struggle Committee. A statewide bus jatha, held from June 18–27, was attended by over 12,027 people. More than 6,000 families occupied land for housing in 45 centers.

Wage Struggles

Despite the importance of wage struggles, our efforts have not yielded the desired results. Most movements have been spontaneous rather than planned. In Telangana, wage agitation occurred in 425 villages across 24 districts, with nearly 10,000 workers participating, resulting in wage increases. A successful struggle for Bidi worker bonuses resulted in the distribution of Rs 350 crore to families, with amounts ranging from Rs 30,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh. In West Bengal, wage movements took place in seven districts and 950 villages, with strikes lasting 3 to 13 days, securing wage hikes in some areas. In Tripura, wage conventions were organized in 199 villages, attended by 1,658 workers. In Maharashtra, a struggle in Nandurbar district resulted in an increase in the wage of agricultural labourers from Rs 150 to Rs 250 per day. Due to sustained struggles, the Government of Karnataka recently revised the minimum wage for farm labourers. In Pilibanga, Rajasthan, in April 2022, over 1,000 workers, including women, went on strike demanding a wage increase.

MNREGA Struggles

Regular campaigns and struggles have been conducted regarding MNREGA issues, with most states undertaking protest programmes.

Various all-India protest actions were organised independently and jointly with other organisations. On October 11, 2023, nationwide joint protests were held against the BJP-led government’s MNREGA policies. In Kerala, KSKTU-MNREGA Workers Union held 2,193 joint protests, with 1,22,178 participants, including 59,348 union members (34,412 women). In West Bengal, 15,722 protesters gathered across 125 locations in 19 districts. Punjab staged dharnas at 29 BDPO offices in 14 districts. Nationwide, protests spanned nearly 225 districts and over 20,000 villages.

Over the last three years:

Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tripura, and Maharashtra persistently fought for work and wage increases. Rajasthan and Haryana initiated MNREGA actions. Tamilnadu mobilised for the Urban Employment Guarantee Act, achieving positive outcomes. West Bengal recently took up MNREGA struggles, culminating in a massive rally in Kolkata on September 25, 2023, attended by 16,240 people. A 15-day campaign on MNREGA was organised in Tripura, concluding with a march to Agartala on September 26, 2024. In Telangana, after the state convention in June 2024, demonstrations were held in 753 panchayats, with a second round in 199 panchayats demanding pending wages. In Andhra Pradesh, dharnas were held before district collectorates and 382 village secretariats to demand higher central budget allocations for MNREGA. In Tamilnadu, protests on July 25, 2023, were organised across 43 centers for the implementation of the urban employment scheme. On November 12, 2024, a ‘Black Diwali’ protest saw black flags hoisted across 326 centers, involving over 20,000 workers. As a result, Rs 2,696 crore in wage arrears were deposited into workers’ bank accounts. In Rajasthan, significant struggles were undertaken in Hanumangarh and Sri Ganganagar districts on MNREGA issues. Continuous persuasion has led to interventions in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Joint Struggle with Kisan fronts and Trade Unions:

Over the past three years, efforts have been made to unite agricultural workers, farmers, and workers through coordinated actions. Regular meetings and joint protests were held against central and state budgets, corporate-oriented agricultural policies, and labour codes. Resistance has also grown against electricity privatisation and smart meter installations.

A significant Kisan Mazdoor Rally took place on April 5, 2023, in Delhi, following extensive preparations. The front actively supported calls by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) and Central Trade Unions (CTU), including mobilisation for the three-day Mahapadav (Nov 26-28, 2023) and participation in the All India Joint Convention of Workers and Farmers (Aug 24, 2023).

Joint Actions of Agricultural Worker Unions

An all India convention of agricultural workers was held on May 16, 2022 that brought together over 500 delegates. A charter of demands was adopted, on whose basis protests were held across 500 districts. Regular joint struggles continue on issues such as PDS, MNREGA, and social justice, with efforts to build a nationwide platform. Coordination with SKM and CTU is ongoing.

Solidarity Actions

The front extended solidarity to various struggles, including:

• Manipur protests (July 25, 2023)

• Women wrestlers’ protests against sexual harassment (April 27 & June 1, 2023)

• Kerala Solidarity Day (Feb 8, 2024)

• Support for Palestine against Israel’s attacks

These efforts demonstrate sustained resistance against policies of authoritarian BJP government.

Struggle Against Caste Oppression

Our front previously neglected social issues to some extent. However, in recent times, efforts have been made to reverse this trend. While some states are actively addressing caste-based oppression, others still lag behind in closing this gap. Joint activities have been conducted to tackle this issue.

Two joint conventions on Dalit issues were organised at the national level, followed by state conventions. A convention was held on November 5, 2022, in Delhi, and a two-day National Dalit Summit took place in August in Hyderabad, with the participation of numerous organisations. Additionally, a public meeting was held on December 4, 2023, in Delhi, preceded by a signature campaign. Protests were organised in response to Home Minister Amit Shah’s disparaging remarks about Dr. B.R. Ambedkar during a Rajya Sabha session.

The rise of identity politics and the influence of communal forces among weaker sections, especially Dalits, pose a significant challenge to our movement. As an organization representing the rural working class, our front must vigorously combat both these harmful ideologies.

Fight Against Communalism

Hindutva ideology is increasingly spreading among agricultural workers. This is reflected in the electoral gains of the BJP in various rural elections. By leveraging Hindu identity, Dalits are being pitted against minorities. The BJP is also exploiting sub-caste identities to establish a foothold among the rural poor.

However, our efforts to counter the Hindutva communal menace remain nominal. Study camps at various levels now include sessions on communalism as part of their curriculum. Additionally, seminars on political and ideological issues are organised at all levels to equip our cadres with the tools to counter Hindutva propaganda. This is not sufficient. More serious, sustained, and coordinated efforts are required to challenge this ideology by actively engaging in the socio-cultural life of agricultural workers.

Promoting Women’s Leadership

The feminisation of agricultural work is a notable trend. However, women’s wages remain significantly low, they lack maternity benefits, and they continue to face sexual harassment.

While women’s participation in agitations and struggles is predominant, their representation in leadership remains abysmally low at all levels. Drastic steps must be taken to ensure greater representation of women in leadership positions across all levels.

Organising Rural Manual Workers

In January 2024, the Central Committee reviewed the work of the Agricultural Workers’ Front and emphasised the importance of organising all farm and non-farm workers in rural India. Many agricultural workers engage in multiple forms of labour throughout the year, shifting between farm and non-farm work while still remaining dependent on agriculture. Our front must actively organise these workers through mass struggles.

Work in Residential Areas and Social Welfare Issues

Given the conditions of low income and massive unemployment, agricultural workers rely heavily on welfare schemes and public services. However, health and education are increasingly being privatised, making them unaffordable for the poor. Many social welfare pensions, such as widow and old-age pensions, are being converted into targeted schemes, excluding major sections of rural India. Protecting and expanding welfare schemes and public services should be a key priority for our front.

Most welfare schemes and public services are accessed by the poor in residential areas. The rural rich, through their political social and cultural dominance, exert control over our class. To empower the rural poor as an independent force, it is insufficient to focus solely on their economic demands. Our front must actively engage in issues related to their residential life and participate in their cultural and social activities. Additionally, we must undertake social service and social reform initiatives to improve their overall conditions.

Organisation

All India Centre: Presently four comrades are working at the all India centre. In general, they are discharging their assigned responsibilities in a satisfactory manner. The centre should be strengthened by adding two new comrades. Centre functions collectively. Centre functionaries are spending time in the states apart from meetings and visiting lower units.

State Centres: A critical concern is the lack of effective and fully functional state centres across different regions. While states like Kerala, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tripura, Tamilnadu, and Maharashtra have established state centers, others have weaknesses, with only one or two comrades managing to function without a complete organisational setup. The shortage of comrades and resources, particularly in north Indian states, remains a significant challenge.

Committee Functioning: The Central Working Committee and General Council are meeting regularly. Most of the state committees consistently hold meetings with an attendance rate averaging between 70 to 80 per cent. Many state committee members especially in Hindi states are not actively participating in the activities of the front, which adversely affects the collective functioning of the states.

The Front has membership in 271 districts and district committees are formed in 235 districts. The functioning of district committees is still a matter of concern. In north Indian states, regular meetings and independent functioning of committees is limited to 4-5 districts in each state. States should prioritise the improvement of functioning of district committees.

Village Units: There are currently 24,933 village committees of the front across the country, but only 13,025 of them are actively functioning. This inactivity highlights a lack of focus from the leadership on strengthening the functioning and effectiveness of these village committees. All the states should set some targets to build and properly run village committees.

Membership: There has been a consistent but gradual increase in the front’s membership over the years, except for the last year, 2023-24. Membership has grown by 8,23,217. With the exception of Kerala, there is no compiled data on the exact number of women membership.

Our front in Kerala accounts for 33.88 per cent of the overall membership, while the five South Indian states (Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamilnadu, and Karnataka) collectively contribute 67.02 per cent. When West Bengal is included, 89.59 per cent of the total membership is concentrated in just six states. Additionally, proper membership scrutiny is largely neglected in most states, apart from Kerala.

Agricultural workers front has expanded to some new states. Despite continuous efforts, we failed to build the organisation in Jharkhand. A similar situation exists in Gujarat. On a positive note, the front has formed a committee in Assam.

Hindi States: The agricultural workers front is making efforts to increase its strength in Hindi-speaking regions. Despite having state committees, its reach is limited to a few districts, with total membership in these states, including Punjab and Maharashtra, being less than 10 per cent – a small fraction compared to the vast number of agricultural workers. In Uttar Pradesh, where there are 75 districts, the front is active in only 16, with organising committees in 12 more.

State committees of Hindi speaking states must take steps to revive, expand, and provide cadres to strengthen the organisation.

Political Education: Political and ideological education has become a regular activity of the front. Regular political-ideological classes were held at the all-India level. In the past three years, one English-language school and one Hindi-language school were organised. State and district-level classes are conducted regularly, with some states also organising regional classes. However, lower-level classes remain inconsistent. Kerala has conducted classes for 94,051 comrades at various levels during the last year.

Bulletin: The Front publishes a bulletin in both English and Hindi, but its frequency needs improvement. Another seven states are publishing bulletins.

Fraction and Sub-Committees: Earlier a joint agrarian sub-committee was functioning to guide the Kisan and agricultural workers fronts. Separate central fraction committees for the kisan and agricultural workers fronts have been formed in January 2024. During the last one year, two meetings of the fraction committee were held. Similarly, all the states have formed fraction committees except Tamilnadu and Tripura. Some of the fraction committees discuss the process of Party building among agricultural workers, but most of the fraction committees meet before the conferences of the organisation.

Party Membership: Most of the states don’t have concrete number of Party members coming from agricultural workers families or working in the agricultural workers front. This front contributes 25 per cent of the total Party membership in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, while Tamilnadu has over 20,000 members, West Bengal has 20,425 and Tripura 4,000. Similarly in Kerala, 1,02,363 Party members are working in the agricultural workers front, which is 18.12 percent of the total membership of the state. The main weakness lies in the failure to identify new auxiliary members during struggles on regular basis.

Whole-Timers: The number of leaders dedicating their full time to our union has significantly decreased. There are 391 whole timers in Kerala, and this is reflected in the strength of the front in the state. West Bengal has 61 and Tamilnadu 43 whole timers. These numbers are much less in relation to the expanding work in these states. Similar is the case of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana which have 103 and 92 whole timers respectively. The numbers are alarmingly low, especially in the other weak states, highlighting the urgent need to recruit new leaders in these areas. The Party should identify new cadre for recruitment in the agricultural workers’ front. One of the immediate issues to address is the low and irregular wages prevalent in most North Indian states. In the future, it will be important to involve part-time members as well, and deliberate efforts should be made to identify and encourage women and young cadres to take on full-time roles.

Future Tasks

Based on this understanding, the following are the Party-linked tasks:

1. As per the direction given by the CC review of the Agricultural Workers Front, the agricultural and rural workers organisation should bring within its ambit various types of the rural workforce. Party committees at all levels working in rural areas should take necessary steps to implement this decision.

2. Special emphasis should be given to build sustained local struggles on class issues of wages, land and house sites etc. Along with this, MNREGA issues must be taken up for struggles.

3. Issues related to social justice and social security should be taken up by mobilising these socially marginalised sections. Special attention should be paid to specific issues of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

4. Combat the influence of communal ideology among agricultural workers. Take up social, cultural and service activities to prevent Sangh Parivar’s penetration among the rural poor.

5. Sub-committees and fraction committees must ensure regular meetings to activise the Party members deputed to work in this front. Concrete plans for Party recruitment, political education should be formulated under Party guidance.

6. In those states where there are no activities of the Agricultural Workers’ Front at present, the Party committees should take urgent steps to initiate work on the front by allotting cadre.

7. The concerned Party committees should allocate sufficient cadres to this front and extend financial support for their wages as the organisation may not be able to generate adequate resources.

8. The Party should help to organise migrant workers both at the source and destination of migration in coordination with the concerned Party committees.

***

Women

The women’s mass organisation (WMO) has tried to implement the tasks emerging out of the direction of the Political Resolution of the 23^rd Party Congress. (1) Fight against the BJP-RSS regime as the main danger at all levels – the Hindutva ideologies, policies and practices (2) resist the onslaught of neo-liberal policies and link the struggle against neo-liberal policies with the struggle against communalism (3) unleash mass struggles on social issues.

New Challenges in the Period

The last three years of the BJP government have seen an intensification of the crisis in the lives of women both at the economic and social spheres. Patriarchal trends have strengthened in social relations, while pro-corporate policies have hit women hard. Hindutva forces have sought to divide women on communal lines with the most cruel targeting of Muslim women. At the same time, Hindutva manuvadi approaches have strengthened the caste system and casteist sexist practices against the majority of women. The RSS has misused religion in a big way to mobilise women for their divisive communal and casteist polarization. Its policies of conflating Hindutva with Hindu religious faith is most seen in its work among women. Superstitions and obscurantism have been promoted. This has posed new challenges for the WMO.

Also, while aggressively pursuing neo-liberal policies which have hit women hard, the BJP-RSS regime uses selective and inadequate schemes such as the Ujjwala Yojana or the five kg free food scheme or the transfer of money schemes like Ladli Behan to propagate a myth of its “women led development” framework. How to approach and address this false propaganda through direct interventions has also been a challenge.

Important Interventions

The WMO’s successful national conference which was held in January 2023, charted out a direction within this political framework for work among women which helped the implementation of these tasks.

This was also the period of the Lok Sabha and several state Assembly elections. Women activists were involved in election work in various states.

Prior to lok Sabha elections, the WMO organized two important programmes to mobilise women against the BJP government on the slogan `BJP Sarkar Hatao, Mahila Bachao, Samvidhan Bachao. Firstly, an all-India rally of 7,000 women in Delhi was held before the Lok Sabha elections in October 2023. This was preceded by an all-India campaign of jathas, cycle/scooter rallies, songs and street plays, door-to-door leaflet distribution and street corner meetings. The WMO brought out a booklet, ‘Modi Sarkar, Anti-Women Sarkar’ exposing the decade of anti-women policies of the Central government. Thousands of copies of this booklet were sold in English, Hindi and other regional languages.

The second was a national convention to highlight the experience of women who have been direct victims of the Modi government. Attended by more than 1000 women, it highlighted specific representative cases of communal and caste as well as class violence. It is found that when platforms are provided for women victims, it creates a close bond with the audience which has a more lasting impact.

During the Lok Sabha and several state assembly elections, women activists were involved in election work and in some places, it was women activists who played a big role in the house-to-house campaigns. The review conducted by the WMO of its work during the elections found that there was a big impact of schemes for women among the women voters. Even where they were not benefitting, the hope that their turn would come influenced their vote. It was also found that the BJP was directly using Central government data on beneficiaries to directly contact women “beneficiaries” during the election period. The impact created by such “beneficiaries” must be assessed properly by the Party and suitable steps devised to tackle this issue.

Struggles on Economic Issues

Sustained interventions and struggles for cheap foodgrains has helped in getting some relief for women at the local level. Large protest actions at the district and tehsil/block/mandal headquarters have been held. Innovative ideas like thali beating, carrying rolling pins, carrying effigies of empty gas cylinders, etc. helped to attract the attention of people towards the serious issue of price rise. A nationwide signature campaign was conducted and lakhs of signatures were couriered to the President of India from all over the country in 2022. A national level signature campaign against price rise and for ration grains is ongoing being submitted to the Governor and District Collectors. So far, more than four lakh signatures have been collected. This was an example of linking national policy issues with local needs and achieving realisable demands.

Another method used with a good impact was the effort to develop data based struggles instead of just general demands. On different issues, the WMO has stressed on collection of concrete data. An example is the nationwide survey of women affected by MFI loans carried out by the WMO. More than 5,000 women in 19 states have been surveyed by WMO activists. The findings will be published and used for a National Public Hearing in Delhi on this burning issue in the coming days.

This survey experience will help to study the impact of the various Central and state government schemes started for women, so that there can be concrete interventions at various levels, including the conceptualization of the scheme, its implementation, the gaps and how to ensure women can access benefits. The study is also necessary to show that many schemes that have been started have actually resulted in the defunding of other social welfare benefits.

The WMO has tried to organize SHGs and also involve them in various agitations. We have been able to intervene among this section in states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamilnadu and Telangana. Work among domestic workers is going on in Delhi, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Tamilnadu. But organising urban home-based workers in many states has been difficult especially after the pandemic. More attention is needed to be given to this task.

A signature campaign on the problems facing MNREGA workers was carried out in November 2023 which was submitted to the BDOs. 13 states have identified districts where the WMO has contacts among MNREGA workers and can organize struggles on their demands. The work on MNREGA has to be reviewed and taken forward as there is a lack of consistency.

House sites is another important issue for poor rural women. As part of the joint struggle led by the Party in Telangana, the WMO played a very important role with women activists in the forefront for house sites.

Against Violence

Struggles against sexual and domestic violence continue to be the WMO’s focus across India. Experience of two cases need mention. The first is the female wrestlers’ protest where there was a spontaneous support across India. The WMO played an important role, particularly the Haryana committee. The second was the sustained struggle in West Bengal after the RG Kar rape case. Here also the WMO played an important role with unprecedented mobilisations and sustained work by women cadre along with youth and student organisations. The experience in both these struggles shows the importance of supporting spontaneous struggles while strengthening organizational interventions.

Numerous individual cases have been taken up in different states. In many states legal aid centres are functioning.

Against BJP-RSS Hindutva

The WMO has been actively intervening in cases of communal violence targeting minorities. In this period the Delhi unit has expanded work in the area and helped the development of activists from the minority community. In Uttar Pradesh, the WMO has been active in mobilising public opinion against communal violence and attacks on minorities in the name of ‘love jihad’ and forcible conversion.

In Manipur, at the time of the horrific violence, a team of the WMO visited the state. The WMO raised funds to help the victims of sexual assault as a gesture of solidarity. It also provided assistance to the Manipur committee for its relief work.

In all these cases, it is shown that intervention must be timely and immediate relief should also be raised for victims.

WMO held ‘Unity’ conventions in 2022 by involving and mobilising women from all castes and communities. There is a need to evolve better and more effective strategies to counter the RSS-BJP propaganda among women.

The WMO has tried to have a joint campaign along with the Peoples’ Science Movement against superstitions and obscurantist practices. Programmes to encourage scientific thinking among women were held in some states. This campaign must be taken forward.

While observing specific days such as Savitribai Phule anniversary, International Women’s Day or International Human Rights Day, issues of social justice and against RSS-BJP Manuvadi ideology has been an important part of the campaign.

Some states have made efforts to ensure the presence of the WMO on occasions where there are large mobilisations of women in religious festivals and other community celebrations. The establishment of medical camps, water distribution are some of the initiatives taken. More conscious efforts have to be made in this direction.

A combination of work on economic, social and political issues has helped the WMO to reach out to new sections. These efforts need to be stepped up.

Organisation

The Central office-bearers as well as the national committee meet on an average every three months. At the Central level, a Central team functions which also meets from time to time. The Centre has intervened on all major issues and maintained regular and live contacts with the states which helps intervention wherever required. However, the Centre lacks sufficient full-time cadre which would strengthen Central work.

The decision to activise unit level functioning had mixed results. The most positive experience has been from Kerala where unit level functioning of around 28,000 units is quite regular. There is some improvement in West Bengal, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The other states are still grappling with the problem of unit level functioning. The difficulties arise from the critical economic situation of the leadership and health issues of activists at the ground level. Activisation of unit committees remains a priority task of the organisation. Special efforts were taken to educate and involve newer cadre. Young women have to be specially targeted for developing them as WMO cadre.

To help develop the ideological level of cadre, the WMO organized classes with a four-subject syllabus including on how to combat communalism in 23 states for leading women cadre. This was an important initiative by the WMO Centre which was considered useful by cadre.

The WMO has streamlined the functioning of its research centre, and its trust. The WMO has expanded its Central office premises in Delhi.

Membership

There is a positive development in membership with an 8.46 per cent increase over 2021. The membership which had fallen below the one crore mark due to the repression in West Bengal and Tripura, is now a little more than one crore with both states having improved their membership. The uneven development in the states still persists as can be seen in the membership chart.

United Struggles with other Women’s Organisations

Due to the hesitancy of certain women’s groups to confront the Hindutva forces, broader and sustained united movements are more difficult to build. On an issue-to-issue basis, different organisations do join. Efforts were made to have joint consultation and programmes of Left-oriented women’s mass organisations. However, there has not been much impact of joint struggles with other women’s organisations in this period. Efforts have to continue.

Tasks on Mass Organisation

The experience of countering the BJP-RSS misuse of religion for political ends in the last three years shows that this has to be much more strongly taken up by the WMO as part of its daily activity. Also the positive experience of linking the fight against communalism with the fight against the impact of neo-liberal policies impact on women must be taken forward.

Organisationally, the above review shows that while many efforts have been made to fulfill the tasks set out in the 23^rd Party Congress, some like functioning of the sub-committees, more sustained work among poorer sections of rural women, development and education of activists, need more effort. Local struggles on realisable demands and organisational consolidation are necessary to expand the base of the organisation. Attention to function unit committees has had a positive impact but needs further strengthening. Strengthening of state and district centres is also a very important task. Sustained efforts to build up united movements with women’s organisations on agreed issues must be made.

Party and WMO

The Women’s Sub-Committee met 7 times in this period. The main discussions related to (1) Party building (2) Fraction Committee functioning (3) any policy issues regarding the mass front or Party (4) submission of notes to the PB on any of the above. The Fraction Committee met twice in three years. FC should meet at least twice a year.

State Sub-Committees/Fraction Committees: One of the gaps in coordination with the Party is that the discussions in the women’s Sub-Committee and/or the FCs is not usually reported to the State Committees even though in many states the state Party secretary or other leaders attend the meetings. Thus issues raised are not always resolved and important political experiences of work among women do not become the understanding of the state committee as a whole. This can also be addressed by the women’s FC giving a note to the state leadership after FC meetings.

Party Building

The Women’s Sub-Committee and the state FCs have made conscious efforts to encourage women’s recruitment into the Party. Some issues which had come up in the fraction committee meetings are to be noted. In West Bengal, there is still some reluctance at the branch and local level to recruit women, even though women activists have fought bravely against terror during the panchayat elections. In the Hindi-speaking states, there is a marginal increase in percentage of women Party members in all states. But Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have the lowest percentage of women with 9.6 and 8 per cent respectively. In Bihar particularly, there is no conscious effort to recruit women into the Party, though there is substantial membership of women in the class and mass organisations.

It should also be noted that according to state FC reports, the main recruitment for the Party is through the WMO. The recruitment from other class/mass organsiations is negligible except for a few states like Karnataka.

While the issue of having separate women’s branches has been left to the states, in those states where there are mixed branches, there is little improvement in adjusting the timings, which are usually late evenings, to make it convenient for women to attend. Even now there are very few women branch secretaries in mixed branches.

Party Members’ Work among the Mass of Women

The mass line has been implemented fairly well by Party members in the WMO though a live and sustained link with the mass membership and the mass of women needs to be strengthened. There is weakness in the functioning of the women Party members’ work to be able to build the Party base among women who have participated in so many struggles. If the membership of the WMO is compared to women’s Party membership, there is a big gap. This could be addressed by ensuring that at least two new women are recruited into the Party from every WMO unit. The other aspect to be addressed is how to politicalize the mass membership. One of the shortcomings is also the absence of trained political women workers at the unit and local level for which more attention is to be given.

An important link in building a political mass base among women is coordinated work in localities/rural areas where different mass/class organisations have women membership. There is zero progress in this regard with little or no coordination, except during elections. As far as coordination between trade union based working women’s associations are concerned, the situation has deteriorated in this period with no coordination at the Central level despite efforts by the Central leaders working in the WMO. This has adversely affected whatever coordination there used to be at the state level. It requires Party intervention at the Central and state levels to ensure such coordination in the interests of building a Party base among women.

Independent Functioning

There is improvement in the independent functioning of the mass organisation. The earlier practice of Party intervention at various levels, including decisions regarding office-bearers etc., has been rectified in all states. The main office-bearers are finalised in consultation with the Women’s Sub-Committee/FC at various levels. There is a positive change in this respect.

However, it has been the experience that in some of the states, particularly in the Hindi-speaking belt, an opposite trend has emerged in the Party – neglecting or giving little priority for the women’s organisation. To illustrate this, is the record of those states like Rajasthan, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh where in the constituencies where the Party gets a good vote with women’s support, there is little effort to organise the women in the WMO reflected in the poor or in some cases nil membership of the WMO in these constituencies.

The Party in the Hindi region states does not appreciate the need to pay special attention to work among women. The women’s FC in these states also has to work to cover this gap.

Another problem lies in the coordination between mass programmes decided by the mass organisations. Where there is a clash with any other programme, more often than not it is the women’s organisation which is asked to revise the programme. Better coordination is required on this issue.

A continuing issue is the allotment of work to women Party members. The crux of the problem remains that work done by women Party members in the mass organisation is not recognised as political work and is undervalued. This also impacts on the assessment of women cadre. Moreover, the domestic responsibilities that women have to shoulder is seldom taken into account when assessing women cadre. These issues were raised at the time of the 23^rd Party Congress, but there has been only marginal improvement.

In most states, the mass organisation functions from separate offices at the state level, though at the district level this has not been possible everywhere. Kerala has taken the initiative to have separate offices at the district level. It is noteworthy that women had independently collected the resources required for this effort.

Cadre Development and Wholetimers

In these three years, the total number of women wholetimers working in the WMO and the Party is around 1000 of which more than half are in Kerala. Because of the help given by the WMO Centre, the number of women wholetimers increased from 15 in nine states to 23 in 11 states mainly in the Hindi speaking region and in Assam and Manipur. There are three at the Centre. The main effort in the Centre’s help is to the Hindi-speaking states to ensure fulltime workers at the state level. However, there are many promising women activists at the district level who because of lack of financial assistance find it difficult to work. There are also many women who are working fulltime for the organization but are not “officially” recognised as wholetimers and are therefore not included in this collation. Some of the details available are: In Kerala there are approximately 550 women wholetimers at different levels of the WMO/Party. This is the highest in the country. In Tamilnadu there are 77 fulltimers and another 71 workers getting an allowance making it a total of 148. In Tripura the number is 67; in West Bengal, the number of women wholetimers have increased from 35 to 51; in Telangana from 31 to 42; in Andhra Pradesh- 30; among the Hindi-speaking states, Delhi has 5 women Party wholetimers and another 6 women who are given an allowance by the WMO.

It is a fact that in the most adverse circumstances women cadre have played a very good role in defending the movement and the Party. In Party mobilisations, women make up a substantial section, mainly mobilized by our women cadre. These are positive developments.

Efforts have been made to develop younger women cadre with limited success.

A three-day Central school was organized by the Party for women cadre which was attended by over 100 leading cadre. The feedback was positive. Party should hold special classes for women cadre.

Other Issues:

The Central Committee adopted perspective document on women (2005) requires to be updated regarding the statistical profile. The document has been more reported in this period but still has not been included as an essential subject in the Party syllabus. This should be done.

The decision that the Party should directly take up issues concerning women has been implemented in only in Tamilnadu, West Bengal and Karnataka.

The Party should consciously fight patriarchal trends in the Party organization as enjoined in the rectification campaign.

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Youth

Over the last three years, there is no significant improvement in the condition of youth. Economic instability, unemployment, and denial of access to education persist. Unemployment remains a major crisis, with no concrete measures taken to address it. Migration from rural to urban areas in search of employment continues to rise, leading to an increasing number of migrant labourers across the country. The crisis in government job recruitment continues to haunt the youth. The current state of youth in the country reflects a deepening crisis – one that is not just economic but also ideological, as reactionary forces attempt to take advantage of the growing discontent.

In this scenario, the Youth Front has been conducting programmes and taking up various campaigns.

Fight Against Unemployment

On 3rd November 2022, a Parliament March against unemployment was conducted in New Delhi, in which around 5,000 people participated.

September 15 was observed as All India Demands Day across various states, raising demands for accessible education and employment for all. While protests took place in most states, some of them were token in nature.

Continuous struggles against unemployment were conducted in Kerala, West Bengal, Tripura and Tamilnadu. Campaigns and programmes were taken up in these states regularly. In states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Assam several campaigns were taken up and attempts to build a movement against unemployment are still going on. In Karnataka, programmes were conducted at regular intervals.

After the Agnipath Scheme was announced, several programmes were conducted against it in various places, especially in states where army recruitment plays a crucial role. In Delhi, a joint protest march was organised as a quick reaction after the scheme was announced, along with the student front. However, it should be noted that the Youth Front did not initiate the process, but only intervened subsequently after the spontaneous outburst broke out.

As the Review of the Work in the Youth Front (August, 2023) pointed out: “Absence of our systematic and consistent mobilization at the local level, not to speak of a consolidated presence of the organization, prevented the sustenance of the struggle”. Although there was a chance to create a nationwide movement against unemployment, the Youth Front could not utilise it completely.

Fight Against Communalism

30 January, 2023: Communal Harmony day was observed across the country.

30 January, 2024: A nationwide event was held to commemorate Gandhi’s martyrdom to reaffirm secular values through commemorating Gandhi’s assassination by Godse.

26 January 2025: Various states conducted programmes highlighting India’s pluralism and the need to counter communal hatred.

Following the political instability in Bangladesh, in West Bengal and northeastern states, the Youth Front has initiated programmes to promote social harmony.

Fight Against Drugs

Drug addiction is becoming a major issue across states, with increasing cases of substance abuse among young people. The lack of stringent government action and preventive measures has worsened the situation. The widespread availability of drugs is leading to serious social and economic consequences.

In Tamilnadu, large-scale protests and awareness programmes were conducted, mobilising thousands. In Tripura, continuous movements and campaigns were carried out to highlight the dangers of drug addiction. Kerala and Telangana also took initiatives to conduct some programmes against drugs. Similar efforts need to be expanded to other states where drug-related issues are increasing.

The CC Review of the Work in Youth Front (August 2023) pointed out that “the essential lesson of struggles during this period underlines that unless the major issues on which the overall anti-youth policy approach of the BJP government or the corporate-communal nexus which is ruining youth life is broken up into demands and slogans which could be easily intelligible and with which the general mass of youth can identify with at the grass root level, a broad-based struggle cannot emerge effectively”.

Relief Work

The Youth Front played an active role in organising relief efforts in various states affected by natural disasters, including Kerala, West Bengal, Assam, Tamilnadu, and Tripura. These initiatives included distributing essential supplies, assisting in resettlement, and mobilising volunteers for on-ground support. Kerala state committee of the Youth Front took initiatives to provide relief to those who were affected by landslides in Wayanad and also collected more than Rs 20 crore towards for rehabilitation.

Dalit and Tribal Youth:

The Political Organisational Report of the 22nd Party Congress directed the Youth Front to chalk out specific plans to intervene effectively among Tribal, Dalit and Minority youth. Youth Front took up initiatives in this direction to address the discrimination faced by dalit and tribal youth. In some states, the youth front along with other mass organisations conducted programmes against discrimination of tribal and dalit youth.

All India Dalit Youth Convention was held in Chandigarh to address issues of caste discrimination, unemployment, and lack of political representation.

All India Tribal Youth Convention took place in Mumbai, focusing on tribal land rights, education, and government neglect.

However, despite these initiatives, there are gaps in implementing these decisions at the grassroots level.

Struggle for gender equality

In some states continuous programmes are being taken up against gender discrimination at different levels. Protest programmes in immediate response to incidents of gender discrimination were conducted.

The Youth Front reacted immediately and gave a nationwide protest call against the RG Kar incident, in West Bengal. Protest programmes were conducted across the states. The West Bengal state committee of the Youth Front played an important role in the movement demanding justice to the victim.

Youth front in Kerala has been at the forefront of various campaigns advocating gender justice, with a key focus on the fight against dowry.

The Youth Front needs to take proactive initiatives to address the issues of discrimination of transgenders, advocate for inclusive policies, and create a more equitable society.

All India Young Women’s Convention

All India young women’s Convention took place on the 25th and 26th of February 2023 in New Delhi. The participation of young women in various committees and programmes of the youth front is very low. Apart from Central Executive Committee members, 156 delegates participated in this convention.

New Developments and Challenges

Youth Front activities were restarted in Gujarat after a long gap. Reorganisation of units in Andaman and Lakshadweep happened during this time and they are functioning currently. Attempts were made to establish a state committee in Sikkim, but could not succeed.

The task to form organisational committees in those states where the Youth Front does not exist could not be achieved. In Jharkhand, Youth Front activities weakened in past years and there is no membership in 2023 and 2024. In Madhya Pradesh, while the youth front has a small organisational structure in place, there is a lack of active engagement and progress. In Uttarakhand, the organisation was previously active but has now become inactive.

A special meeting was conducted in New Delhi along with the Youth Front leaders of Hindi speaking states to discuss about the status of organisation in their states and address issues confronting the front. Such efforts needs to be continued.

Membership and Basic Units

Over the last three years, the overall membership of the Youth Front has remained largely stagnant, with variations across different states. In some regions, membership has grown, while in others, it has declined. Currently, almost 90 per cent of the total membership comes from Kerala, West Bengal, and Tamilnadu.

State fraction committees and Youth Front state committees should initiate a time-bound and planned membership campaigns at the beginning of the year.

In many states, primary units of the Youth Front are not formed. Youth front is not able to take up local level issues and build sustained movements. This is one of the main reasons for the youth front not being able to form primary units at grassroots level. Primary units will have to be formed in branch and local levels.

Basic units play an important role in consolidating our influence at the grassroots. The Youth Front should prioritise the functioning of basic units and taking up local issues.

Joint Struggles

One of the main tasks of the Youth Front was to build joint movements with various other class and mass organisations, particularly on issues like unemployment, attack on dalits, tribals, etc.

The Youth Front was engaged in various joint struggles with other mass organisations. While these joint efforts have been effective in some regions, there is a lack of consistency in organising nationwide actions. A more structured approach is required to sustain joint actions across states.

There is a weakness in implementing the task of taking up joint activities against unemployment along with the student and trade union fronts effectively. The Review document correctly pointed out that in spite of the concerted attack on youth, no worthwhile development of united actions has taken place.

Other Left Youth Organisations

The youth front have taken initiatives to bring together other Left youth organisations for strengthening joint struggles. A protest was conducted at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi against the Agnipath scheme. Challenges in developing a joint movement with other Left youth organisations needs to be patiently overcome.

Struggle along with other Anti-BJP youth organizations

The INDIA Youth Front – a platform of anti-BJP youth organisations was formed to unite organisations that oppose the BJP’s policies and to bring together youth groups working on critical socio-political issues. INDIA Youth Front focused discussions on unemployment, education, and civil rights. A mass gathering at Jantar Mantar was mobilised, where the Youth Front played an active role. Some programmes of the INDIA youth front happened in a few states.

Some important limitations

In some states, the Youth Front is actively engaged in social welfare initiatives such as cultural forums, reading rooms, and health centers but remains less involved in political activities. Meanwhile, in other states, social welfare activities are entirely absent. To ensure the organisation’s growth, it is crucial to strike a balance between both aspects.

Another main limitation is the lack of independent functioning. In many states, the youth front lacks its own office and instead operates from the Party office. As a result, programs and meetings are also held there, which poses a significant challenge to the independent functioning of the youth front. This arrangement reinforces the perception that the youth organisation is a wing of the Party rather than an independent and democratic mass organisation.

Political Education

Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a political school was conducted for Hindi-speaking states. Political schools were conducted in most states to educate activists on key ideological and organisational matters. Despite these efforts, political consciousness remains low at various levels. More structured training programmes are required to systematically educate and mobilise activists from the national to the grassroots level.

All India Centre

Five members were selected to the all India Centre of the Youth Front with two additional members assisting its functioning. There are constraints and shortcomings about making them fully functional as full-time youth cadre working from the Centre. The old office of the Youth Front was sold, leaving the organisation without a permanent space. The Youth Front needs a new office which will also contribute in improving the functioning of the Centre. This is essential to ensure regular functioning of the All India Centre.

Party Building

14 meetings of the Central Party Fraction Committee and two fraction meetings (with all the Party members in the all India committee of the Youth Front) took place since the last Party Congress. Main agenda in these meetings was discussion on the political situation, activities to be taken up and coordination between Party and the Youth Front.

The Party Central Committee conducted the review of the work in the Youth Front in its meeting held on August 4-6, 2023. The Review mentioned the importance of having state level and district level fraction committees. But even after this, fraction committees haven’t been formed in many states and districts and this needs urgent attention. Even in the states where fraction committees were formed, it is observed that they hardly function. This needs immediate rectification.

In some states, due to general weakness of the Party and the lack of youth cadre, there is a pressure of using youth cadre for the daily activities of the Party. This is proving to be counter-productive as such cadre are neither able to focus on building the youth organisation, nor are able to contribute to the strengthening of the Party in the long run. On the other hand, in many places we find that building Party among youth is totally neglected. Both such tendencies do not help in strengthening the Party.

The scrutiny report of Party membership for 2024 shows that there is hardly any improvement in the Party’s youth composition. Most worrying trend is the continuing decline of youth members in many states. It is the task of the fraction committees to arrest this decline and gradually work towards improving the youth composition of the Party.

To build a stronger youth movement, it is essential to take up local issues. The Review points out the importance of taking up local issues: “The question of sustained local struggles as the urgent need for building a strong youth movement is one of the major priorities in the present context. It is not only the conclusion of the last few Party Congresses, but is also dictated by the actual inadequacies of the youth movement in particular. The nature of the youth movement is essentially local….”

Party committees should closely monitor, adopt a balanced approach and help the Youth Front prioritise local struggles.

As pointed out by the Review, a major weakness of the Youth Front lies in pursuing a holistic approach towards struggle and positive social service-related activities. It further underlines the need for sustained local struggles as the starting point for the activities of the Youth Front. Organisationally, the need for building primary unit committees for the Youth Front is the most crucial weakness and needs urgent rectification. The building of the Party in the Youth Front has to start from the grassroots level.

Tasks

The tasks pinpointed in the Review still remain valid:

1. 1. To ensure the independent and democratic functioning of the youth organisation.

   2. To ensure sustained local struggles on day-to-day issues faced by the youth.

   3. To guide the youth cadre to build primary units of the youth organisation.

   4. To ensure systematic political-ideological education for the youth cadre, particularly propagating the socialist vision in the contemporary and Indian context to attract the youth.

   5. To ensure the linkage between the struggles on immediate issues and concerns of the youth with the imperative of confronting the challenge of Hindutva.

   6. To encourage popular intervention in activities of interest to youth ranging from blood donation, literacy campaign, cultural and sports activities, relief work in times of distress, setting up of public libraries etc.

Apart from these, Party related tasks are:

1. 1. Party committees have to ensure that adequate cadre are provided for the Youth Front. Such cadre must be able to devote their main work to the youth organisation and not be diverted for other work.

   2. Fraction committees should be set up at the state and district levels. State committees have to ensure their regular functioning.

   3. The Party, through the fraction committees, must see that attention is paid to enrolling youth women, dalits, adivasis and minorities in the concerned states.

   4. The issue of unemployment should be taken up by the youth organisation independently, but also in cooperation with the trade unions and student organisations. The Party should ensure coordination between these three fronts.

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Student

The 23^rd Party Congress highlighted key tasks for the student movement and the Party. The focus was on effectively addressing agitational, social, political, ideological, and organisational aspects of the student movement. Emphasis was placed on strengthening the Party’s independent role, with priorities set for the student front. Efforts centered on building strong ties with students through sustained local struggles on daily issues. Broad-based unity at the grassroots level was pursued, along with joint actions involving other student groups, teachers, employees, and guardians.

Attacks on Education

The National Education Policy (NEP) introduced by the BJP government accentuated the process of commercialisation, communalisation and centralisation of education system. It has increased inequalities in education, particularly due to the rising costs for accessing education. Dalits, adivasi, minorities and girl students are hard hit by these policies. Revision of textbooks, introduction of irrational and unscientific concepts, myths instead of facts, gathered pace. Due to budget cuts, infrastructure in public educational institutions collapsed, adversely affecting enrollment. On the other hand, examinations like NEET, CUET, etc., are examples of centralisation taking place.

Changing Trends

The changes taking place in education system are also impacting the attitude and behaviour of students. The number of students who are working has increased. On the other hand, we observe a decrease in the number of students in the campus. Distant learning and online courses are increasing, though of dubious quality. The new generation of students – Generation Z and Generation Alpha – who are raised with modern technology, are globally connected, quick to grasp issues, and are more open-minded. Future generations too will advance in a similar direction.

To engage with the modern generation students, the Party and student front must understand their psychology and focus on relevant social issues, including healthcare, mental health, job security, civil rights, free Wi-Fi, artificial intelligence and environmental movements.

Major Activities and Struggles

All India Conference: The 17^th All India Conference of the student front was held in Hyderabad after the pandemic. 620 delegates attended the Conference.

March for Education: All India Jatha: A nationwide Jatha, ‘March for Education’, was conducted from 1st August to 15th September 2022, from five different corners of the country with the slogan ‘Save Education, Save Constitution, Save India.”

The one-and-a-half-month-long Student Jatha culminated towards building a broader platform and igniting the point for building movement against anti-student policies such as NEP which promotes privatisation, commercialisation and saffronisation of education.

Protests for Fellowships and Scholarships: Nationwide protests were organised against the discontinuation of the Maulana Azad National Fellowship (MANF) and other fellowships like Savitribai Phule Fellowship and PMRF Demonstrations also took place over hostel shortages and the discontinuation of SC/ST scholarships in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.

A referendum against the NEP was conducted in JNU, TISS, HCU, and Pondicherry University. A campaign was conducted demanding the taxation of corporates to fund education. The campaign highlighted how the wealth of the billionaires rose during the Covid pandemic, while ordinary people suffered. A booklet on alternative education policy was brought out before the Lok Sabha elections. This was translated into many regional languages.

Protests were held in many campuses demanding the restoration of Students’ Union elections. Solidarity programmes were organised with the wrestlers who protested against sexual harassment and also the victims of violence in Tripura. Protests and solidarity meetings were held against Israeli attack on Gaza. The student front sent medicines to Cuba as solidarity.

United Platforms and Joint Actions

The current situation favours united actions, both organised and spontaneous, overcoming political and ideological differences. Amidst ongoing attacks on education, a united student platform is essential. Despite obstacles, the student front initiated the formation of ‘United Students of India,’ bringing together 16 student organisations. Under this platform, a joint march to the Parliament was organised on January 12, 2024, in Delhi with the slogan: ‘Save Education, Reject NEP. Save INDIA, Reject BJP’.

These joint actions extended to Chennai and Kolkata, successfully amplifying students voices nationwide. Unity of Left and progressive students in many campuses helped to achieve significant victory in students’ union elections also.

Membership

Membership of student front continues to reflect unevenness. The membership of five states – Kerala, West Bengal, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu – constitutes around 93 per cent of the total membership. Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Tripura constitute approximately 6 per cent of the total membership. This unevenness in membership indicates that a substantial section of our membership is concentrated in a few regions of our country. This is an issue that needs to be urgently addressed in order to ensure that the student front reflects the all-India character of the student movement.

Students’ Union Elections

The victory of the students front in students’ union elections in central universities, like Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Hyderabad, English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) and Pondicherry University is a strong political statement. Students front has emerged as a leading force in students’ unions in four of the seven central universities where democratic elections are held. Despite attacks from the media and right-wing, the students front is consistently winning in a significant number of colleges and university campuses. We could win two seats in the Andaman campus of Pondicherry University.

Assessment of the Movement

Over the past three years, there have been many struggles conducted across the campuses in the country, though much remains to be done.

Kerala is the strongest unit for the students front. It is present in almost all the campuses in the state and has a huge influence among the students.

In West Bengal, the student front is trying to expand its reach by attracting students who are until now not in the Left movement and its periphery. The severe restrictions imposed by the ruling TMC government are sought to be overcome by changing the approach of our functioning.

Conduct of localised campus movements increased in Himachal Pradesh. In Rajasthan the focus on rural areas helped. The expansion in Delhi, which was reflected in record membership and it offers a model for states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Haryana.

Maharashtra still faces challenges in expanding and consolidating our organisation in urban centres. In Gujarat there is a potential for the growth.

Organisational structures in Punjab, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Chhattisgarh need strengthening. In Bihar there is untapped potential. Odisha is in the process of forming state committee.

A new unit of the students front was started in the United Kingdom to tackle daily student issues. We have also started district and university committees.

The main challenge remains transforming from an ‘organisation of organisers’ into one representing the student masses. Activities should evolve beyond isolated programs to significant movements involving broader student participation.

The key challenge is nurturing new cadres while maintaining the independent character of the mass organisation. We have carry out persistent efforts to ensure that new activists engage with broader national and international issues, apart from the educational policies.

Independent and Democratic Functioning

The direction of the Kolkata Plenum that the Party would not intervene in day-to-day mass organisation activities is largely followed at the state level. However the experience is not good at the district and local committees. Despite maintaining independent functioning at higher levels, weaknesses persist locally, especially in states where the Party is strong. Here, establishing the student front as an independent entity remains a challenge.

In some states student front cadre are assigned multiple responsibilities, which is hampering their functioning in the student front. This needs to be avoided as they lose focus on the priority task of building the student front.

Area-based units were successfully formed when institution-based functioning and formation of units was difficult. They have been registered at the all India centre of the students front. Regular functioning of campus based units has to be prioritised along with their independent functioning.

Party Building

There is a central fraction committee for the students front. There are fraction committees in many states, but their functioning needs to be improved.

A key weakness remains in converting students engaged in campus movements into committed cadre. There are also gaps in providing consistent ideological and political education. While some educational camps have been held, sustained efforts are lacking. Specific plans are needed to ensure the political development of student party members.

Party committees must ensure proper functioning of students’ branches and also see that auxiliary groups are formed. Plans should be formulated to retain many former student activists who become inactive after completing their studies and leaving the campus.

Key district campuses needs to be identified and prioritised and the Party needs to extend its help to strengthen the student front.

Whole-timers working in the student front, should be nurtured and their ideological conviction needs to be developed. The Kolkata Plenum stressed that proper wage structures and regular payment of allowances should be ensured for whole-time cadre. This is all the more necessary for the student front.

In West Bengal, though a large number of students take part in our activities, but not enough of them are trained to become Party members. This needs to be immediately addressed and rectified. Regular and consistent oversight of the Party committees is needed to achieve this task.

In Kerala, where we have a strong presence of the student front in the campuses, the Party has to concentrate on Party building. The Party state committee has taken the initiative and intervened to address certain wrong trends that were found in the student front.

In Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, where we have a strong student organisation, the Party has to take steps to improve the quality of our student front cadre and leadership.

Development of Student Front: Party’s Responsibility

It is a matter of concern that the student front is not developing and expanding its influence in many states. In the Hindi-speaking region, with the exception of Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and to an extent Delhi, in all the other states, the student front is either negligible or stagnant. In Uttar Pradesh, the biggest state, the membership is negligible; in Bihar, it is stagnant, as also in Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. As for other states, it is not developing in Punjab, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh. In Odisha, the state committee took some steps to revive the organisation, but progress is limited.

When, in the organisational report, we decided that the student front should be a priority front, the present situation of the student organisation must be taken in right earnestness. Party state committees have the responsibility to discuss and draw up plans to develop the student front. In the states where the student front is weak or non-existent, this is a serious task. Identifying potential student cadre and helping them to play the role of organisers is the first step. The Party committees should be oriented to help set-up and support the units of the student organisation. The all India centre of the student front can only help and interfere when the Party does the preliminary work.

In the background of the changing character of the education system, the Party has to help the student front to meet the challenges posed by such changes.

Tasks

1. A large number of students in private educational institutions are out of the reach of the student movement. New organisational forms must be developed to engage with these students. The experience of organising students in the residential areas, can be one such way to approach students of private institutions. The Party should assist the student front for its work among such students.

2. A broad-based campaign for democratisation of campuses and conduct of regular student union elections needs to be taken up.

3. Given the communalisation of syllabus and penetration of Hindutva communal forces, ideological struggle among the students needs to be prioritised.

4. Propagating the socialist vision in the contemporary and Indian context should become part of the ideological work among the students.

5. A large section of students are attracted towards cultural activities. Hindutva communal forces are corrupting the minds of the students through their cultural interventions. The student organisation should conduct cultural activities to propagate progressive values.

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