CPI(M) turns to 'old flavour' in new package for route to revival in Bengal

From fielding young and new candidates to catchy parody songs and using artificial intelligence (AI), the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI(M), in West Bengal is wooing young voters as it strives to make its presence felt in the binary battle between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The CPI(M)-led Left Front that ruled West Bengal for 34 years failed to bag a single seat in the Lok Sabha (LS) poll in 2019 and the Assembly in 2021.

It’s now pinning hopes on a revival.

The CPI(M) is contesting the LS election in alliance with the Congress and other Left Front partners. Of the 42 LS seats in West Bengal, the Left Front is contesting in 30 constituencies, the CPI(M) in 23; the Congress is contesting in 12 seats.

“We have fielded mostly new faces. There are barely three who are above 60 years of age,” said Samik Lahiri, a senior leader of the party.

Revamping outreach

Targeting the youth is an important factor the CPI(M) has realised, and the party is resorting to different tools towards that end.

In the run-up to the last Assembly election, the party had come up with a parody of the popular song ‘Tumpa Sona’ — taking potshots at the TMC and the BJP — for its all-important rally at the iconic Brigade Parade Ground.

And it went viral.

This time, what’s drawing attention is an AI-generated news presenter named ‘Samata’, which means equality. The weekly news bulletins are on the party’s Facebook and YouTube channels; it’s also circulated in WhatsApp groups.

“We are fighting for equality — social and economic — which has taken a beating in the past 10 years. And hence, we have named it ‘Samata’,” said Lahiri, who is part of the core group that launched the project.

AI is being used to generate content for news bulletins, campaign material, etc.

“Other political parties appoint public relations agencies; we can’t afford it. It would have helped to get the rendering done by professionals. But that requires additional resources,” Lahiri said.

The CPI(M) and its volunteers have taken it upon themselves to carry the message. The core group for social media is about 15 to 16, up from six to seven when it was set up just before the LS election of 2014. And there are Left-leaning sympathisers in Big Tech companies who are lending the core group a helping hand.

Launched about a month ago, Lahiri said the response to ‘Samata’ has been good — some of the bulletins have got 500,000 views.

Mohammed Salim, CPI(M) West Bengal secretary, pointed out that the party always believed in low-cost, knowledge-based campaigns. Skits, songs, and wall graffiti have always been part of the communist campaign.

“We are reviving the old flavour with modern technology,” Salim said.

AI, a double-edged sword?

The use of AI by the CPI(M) has drawn barbs from Opposition parties like the BJP and TMC, pointing out that it was the party that opposed computerisation. The party, however, protests the ‘stigmatisation’ and says that it had opposed the loss of jobs and not computerisation per se.

In the 1970s, banking and insurance employees had opposed the introduction of computers to protect jobs, but the party supported it.

“We never opposed computerisation; we opposed sacking of employees,” clarified Lahiri.

Political observer Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury, however, said in any period, the traditional production system takes a beating with the introduction of new technology.

“AI, which is being used by CPI(M), is also like a double-edged sword — it’s practically a revolution. In another five to 10 years, its impact on jobs will play out.”

The CPI(M) is well aware of the pros and cons of AI.

“A razor can be used for shaving; it can also be used to cut throats,” Lahiri pointed out. “We are just using the good side of AI to help us with our work. And the information that we are putting out is completely based on facts.”

Basu Ray Chaudhury also cautioned that those who engage on social media platforms don’t ultimately go out and vote.

Eye on revival

The major drubbing for the CPI(M) came in the LS election of 2019 when the anti-TMC vote switched to the BJP. The party vote share in 2014 had stood at 23 per cent which dropped to 6.3 per cent in 2019.

Political observers believe that there could be some switch back this time unless the Citizenship (Amendment) Act helps polarise and throws a spanner in the works.

The target is to consolidate anti-TMC votes, Lahiri said. However, Samik Bhattacharya, chief spokesperson for Bengal BJP, said that as far as West Bengal politics is concerned, the CPI(M) is irrelevant ideologically and organisationally right now.