After its recent poll debacle in West Bengal and Kerala, the Communist Party of India-Marxist is getting ready for an image makeover. In an effort to reach out to the common man, the party will invite public opinion — for the first time — in deciding an ideological issue, and that too, using new media.
The party, after an ongoing four-day meeting of its central committee, is likely to come out with a final draft of its political and ideological resolutions by January 20. It may deal with issues like the kind of ideological model that should be pursued among countries practising Communism, including China and several Latin American countries. While the apex body, the politburo, met today, the central committee will hold a full session for the next three days at the state headquarters.
According to the party, the public can also comment and participate in the discussion on the draft, as it would be uploaded on its website.
“This is for the first time that we are doing like this,” says Mohammed Salim, a party politburo member from West Bengal. “Earlier, when we adopted such ideological resolutions in 1968 and for the last time in 1992 during the Chennai congress, only opinion from party members were invited. But in the changing phase, we are now open to concepts from the common man and net-savvy youth.”
The draft resolutions would be tabled at the 20th party congress to be held at Kozhikode, Kerala from April 4-9. The draft would cover recent developments, including the poor show at elections in West Bengal and Kerala and the possibility of reviving third front.
More important, it will shape the CPM’s ideological thinking in the coming days.
“Considering the recent economic and political developments across the world, an ideological change is needed,“ Salim said. After the central committee clearance, the draft resolutions would be circulated among all members and introduced in the party congress with amendments. While CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat was batting for following the neo-liberal thinking of countries like China and some Latin American countries, some leaders were against the move.
