Saurabh Mukherjee
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has launched a major campaign push in Bihar ahead of the first phase of the Assembly elections next week, with its central leadership deciding to send senior leaders from West Bengal to bolster the Mahagathbandhan’s campaign.
The CPI(M) Polit Bureau has approved the deployment of senior leaders, including West Bengal state secretary and Polit Bureau member Mohammad Salim, who will campaign in Bihar for four days.
“We will campaign as per the schedule set by the Bihar leadership,” Salim told The Statesman.
“If the state committee seeks additional support, more leaders from West Bengal will be sent,” he added.
The CPI(M) is contesting four seats as part of the INDIA bloc, which includes the RJD, Congress, and Left parties. In the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, the party contested four seats and won two. Both sitting MLAs, Satyendra Yadav and Ajay Kumar, are contesting again this time. Within the alliance, the CPI(ML) Liberation is contesting 20 seats, while the CPI(M) and CPI have a smaller share under the seat-sharing arrangement.
CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby, in a video statement, emphasized that unemployment remains the central issue in Bihar.
“Like the rest of the country, Bihar is facing a severe unemployment crisis. Lakhs of young men and women are struggling to find jobs. The Mahagathbandhan, led by the RJD and supported by Left and secular democratic forces, is contesting this election on the demand for employment,” he said, expressing confidence that voters would back the alliance.
A month earlier, in an interview with PTI, Baby had asserted that there was every possibility of a “resounding victory” for the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, citing a “spontaneous upsurge among people” witnessed during the alliance’s “Voter Adhikar Yatra” against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
“The spontaneous upsurge among people, especially youth and women in Bihar that I could witness on July 9 and on September 1, shows that Mahagathbandhan is moving forward very strongly and there is every possibility of a resounding victory for the broad political arrangement that we have in Bihar,” Baby had said.
He also stressed the need for a fair seat-sharing arrangement within the alliance, noting that the Left parties deserve a greater share given their credible performance in the last polls.
“Left parties deserve more seats. I have had discussions with Mr. Tejashwi Yadav ji. I happened to have discussions with him in detail in Patna. We have explained to him the importance of the Left contesting more seats, whose performance in the last assembly election was creditable,” Baby said.
“He also appreciates that. However, this is a coalition. You see, there are different parties making claims. We would be very realistic and reasonable in making our claims. The strength of our mass base, we want it to get reflected in the electoral battle also,” he added.
“I hope the Mahagathbandhan would be able to come to an amicable decision as to how many seats each partner should contest.”
In the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, the Left parties — CPI(ML) Liberation, CPI(M), and CPI — together won 16 of the 29 seats they contested. The CPI(M) had fought on four seats and the CPI on six, each winning two. The CPI(ML) contested 19 and won 12.
Meanwhile, CPI(M)’s campaign is in full swing across Bihar. On October 25 and 26, large election meetings were held in the Bibhutipur Assembly seat in Samastipur district and the Hayaghat seat in Darbhanga district.
These meetings were addressed by Polit Bureau member Ashok Dhawale and candidates Ajay Kumar, MLA, and Shyam Bharati, respectively. Central Committee members Lalan Choudhary (CPI(M) Bihar State Secretary) and Awadhesh Kumar, along with other state and district leaders and representatives of the Mahagathbandhan, also spoke at the rallies.
All the speakers sharply criticized the Nitish Kumar-led, BJP-controlled state government and the Narendra Modi-led central government for their failures on multiple fronts. They urged people to work tirelessly to ensure the victory of CPI(M) candidates and bring the Mahagathbandhan to power after what they described as 20 “disastrous years of the Palturam regimes.”
The CPI(M) Polit Bureau has approved the deployment of senior leaders, including West Bengal state secretary and Polit Bureau member Mohammad Salim, who will campaign in Bihar for four days.
“We will campaign as per the schedule set by the Bihar leadership,” Salim told The Statesman.
“If the state committee seeks additional support, more leaders from West Bengal will be sent,” he added.
The CPI(M) is contesting four seats as part of the INDIA bloc, which includes the RJD, Congress, and Left parties. In the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, the party contested four seats and won two. Both sitting MLAs, Satyendra Yadav and Ajay Kumar, are contesting again this time. Within the alliance, the CPI(ML) Liberation is contesting 20 seats, while the CPI(M) and CPI have a smaller share under the seat-sharing arrangement.
CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby, in a video statement, emphasized that unemployment remains the central issue in Bihar.
“Like the rest of the country, Bihar is facing a severe unemployment crisis. Lakhs of young men and women are struggling to find jobs. The Mahagathbandhan, led by the RJD and supported by Left and secular democratic forces, is contesting this election on the demand for employment,” he said, expressing confidence that voters would back the alliance.
A month earlier, in an interview with PTI, Baby had asserted that there was every possibility of a “resounding victory” for the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, citing a “spontaneous upsurge among people” witnessed during the alliance’s “Voter Adhikar Yatra” against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
“The spontaneous upsurge among people, especially youth and women in Bihar that I could witness on July 9 and on September 1, shows that Mahagathbandhan is moving forward very strongly and there is every possibility of a resounding victory for the broad political arrangement that we have in Bihar,” Baby had said.
He also stressed the need for a fair seat-sharing arrangement within the alliance, noting that the Left parties deserve a greater share given their credible performance in the last polls.
“Left parties deserve more seats. I have had discussions with Mr. Tejashwi Yadav ji. I happened to have discussions with him in detail in Patna. We have explained to him the importance of the Left contesting more seats, whose performance in the last assembly election was creditable,” Baby said.
“He also appreciates that. However, this is a coalition. You see, there are different parties making claims. We would be very realistic and reasonable in making our claims. The strength of our mass base, we want it to get reflected in the electoral battle also,” he added.
“I hope the Mahagathbandhan would be able to come to an amicable decision as to how many seats each partner should contest.”
In the 2020 Bihar Assembly elections, the Left parties — CPI(ML) Liberation, CPI(M), and CPI — together won 16 of the 29 seats they contested. The CPI(M) had fought on four seats and the CPI on six, each winning two. The CPI(ML) contested 19 and won 12.
Meanwhile, CPI(M)’s campaign is in full swing across Bihar. On October 25 and 26, large election meetings were held in the Bibhutipur Assembly seat in Samastipur district and the Hayaghat seat in Darbhanga district.
These meetings were addressed by Polit Bureau member Ashok Dhawale and candidates Ajay Kumar, MLA, and Shyam Bharati, respectively. Central Committee members Lalan Choudhary (CPI(M) Bihar State Secretary) and Awadhesh Kumar, along with other state and district leaders and representatives of the Mahagathbandhan, also spoke at the rallies.
All the speakers sharply criticized the Nitish Kumar-led, BJP-controlled state government and the Narendra Modi-led central government for their failures on multiple fronts. They urged people to work tirelessly to ensure the victory of CPI(M) candidates and bring the Mahagathbandhan to power after what they described as 20 “disastrous years of the Palturam regimes.”
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