New Delhi: The Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation (CPI-ML (Liberation)) almost sounded the poll bugle in Bihar on March 2, 2025 when it mobilised thousands of people in Patna’s Gandhi Maidan in its rally Badlo Bihar Mahajutaan. The rally saw a gathering of 40-odd organisations comprising ASHA workers, widows of martyred soldiers, mid-day meal cooks, nal-jal operators, sanitation workers, cadres of workers from various disciplines and farmers’ unions. The gathering itself was a culmination of the Badlo Bihar Nyay Yatra that it initiated in October, 2024.
The biggest Left party in Bihar, the CPI-ML (Liberation) scored a handsome strike rate in the last Assembly polls and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls as part of the larger opposition alliance. It secured victories in 12 out of 19 seats it contested in 2020 Assembly polls, and went on to win two of the three Lok Sabha seats in 2024 general elections.
The Wire caught up with the party’s general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya in New Delhi on March 20 to ask about its plan of action in the run-up to the state elections later this year. Bhattacharya, in this detailed interview, also speaks about current political issues and where his party stands in these burning debates.
Edited excerpts from the interview follow.
How do you look at the Nagpur communal violence against the backdrop of movie Chhaava, and also a series of recent communal flare-ups across India?
This is a very orchestrated kind of strategy on the part of the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party], basically it is an old colonial strategy of divide and rule. You have an economic crisis going, US president Trump has shattered the whole myth of Modi’s so-called international stature and Modi-Trump friendship. The BJP definitely wants to divert attention to some other kind of agenda, and it has banked on its tested and trusted agenda of communalism. I mean, for example, you win a trophy against New Zealand, right, there is absolutely no reason why that should lead to some kind of communal anti-Muslim kind of hate campaign. Holi that has always been a syncretic celebration, was pitted against the Jummah prayers.
So, I think this is very, very calculated and I think they are particularly trying to convert Maharashtra into some kind of a stable Sanghi laboratory like Uttar Pradesh, like let’s say Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Probably they are trying to reconstruct the whole Maratha identity because in history the Maratha-Mughal conflict was something different. There were clashes but there was also collaboration. They are like two kingdoms, there is nothing really Hindu-Muslim about it, but they are trying to reconstruct the whole thing. Aurangzeb, like Babri Masjid, has become another thing that can polarise.
I don’t think the communal frenzy that we see now is any kind of spontaneous emotional outburst. It is very, very calculated. I won’t be surprised if the film is also part of that project. You know we have seen Kashmir Files, we have seen Kerala Story, so maybe this is that kind of a film where you spend so much time picturising the execution of Sambhaji in such gory detail as part of a communal strategy.
Are you saying it’s a calculated move, because the BJP may be on the back foot on a range of different issues.
Yes, absolutely, they want this communal polarisation and I think that’s their only hope for Bihar election. So, probably in the run up to Bihar election we will see more of this communal polarisation, we saw how they used such a strategy even the Kumbh, during Jharkhand polls. The whole infiltration issue didn’t click in Jharkhand, but I think for Bihar this is precisely going to be the BJP’s game plan. You saw Giriraj Singh taking out the Hindu Swabhiman Yatra. You may see such frenzy through the year.
Recently, other issues like National Education Policy (NEP) or delimitation have also become polarising issues between the Centre and the opposition forces.
There were talks after the Delhi election that INDIA bloc has disintegrated. So, it is good to see that on most of the issues there is some kind of a coordinated, concerted opposition by various INDIA bloc constituents – on issues of democracy, on issues of defending the constitution, on the federal framework of the country. Parties should, even if there are minor differences here and there, should respond in a concerted and coordinated way. This whole attempt to make these issues into some kind of a north-south divide, I think this is very very dangerous. There is nothing really north-south about them.
For example, the NEP actually is a disaster for higher education in the country. You are completely privatising education and that means that you are taking education away from the reach of the poor and deprived sections of the country. The opposition to NEP goes far beyond Tamil Nadu.
And to penalise Tamil Nadu because of that, and then to make this three-language formula an issue is disastrous. This is not about Hindi per se, this is about imposition of Hindi. Any imposition, any linguistic imposition, can only be disastrous in a multilingual country like India.
But the government is saying that they are not imposing, they are saying that they are just implementing a three-language policy.
No, but there is no three-language policy in North India. I mean there cannot be a selective three language formula.
I am told that for a long time in Haryana, Tamil used to be the third language on paper as long as they wanted to keep Punjabi away in Haryana after the Punjab-Haryana bifurcation.
I mean, among the Indian languages, let’s say any southern language, if you teach let’s say Tamil or Telugu or Malayalam in North India, then it will make sense. The message will go out that for the sake of better communication, better national integration, you need to learn more languages.
People from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh are migrating towards South increasingly for work. This whole idea of pitting North and South against each other, this is a disaster from the economic point of view, from the point of view of livelihood, national unity and of course for the federal framework.
What about the delimitation debate in which southern states are asking for a temporary freeze on the process?
I think it makes sense to defer delimitation for the time being, at least in the national context.
Geographical representation has become equally important now to somehow contain the imbalance that we see in the Parliament.
We can’t have a situation where some states will be permanently confined to some kind of a hopeless minority.
But historically, delimitation has happened on the basis of population growth.
That’s true. But look, we have not conducted the 2021 census. So, it makes sense to freeze delimitation because the regional imbalance has actually grown. The population imbalance that we had in 1971 is much greater in 2025.
This is why I think southern states are anxious and their anxieties are not unfounded. And, it is not just the southern states. I think even Bengal is going to lose. Punjab is going to lose out.
Also read: Why the CPI(ML) Liberation’s Mega Meet in Patna is Significant Before Bihar Elections
Somebody has suggested a formula that you can have bigger assemblies to factor in population growth. For example, in a state like Jharkhand, one can surely expect a bigger assembly. But we need to have put some thought on the delimitation process for Lok Sabha.
Given how the BJP has tried to alienate south culturally, in terms of language, and by every other means, this is certainly not the time when India needs a contentious delimitation.
I think the proposal which has come from the southern parties, some kind of a temporary freeze is perfectly sensible. It makes sense.
Temporary freeze doesn’t mean a permanent resolution. What could be it?
There can be a more holistic, more comprehensive basis to conduct the process, not merely factoring population but other factors too.
How do you see the future of the INDIA bloc? We saw the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress fighting with each other. Many other constituents of the opposition alliance have also spoken against the Congress.
INDIA bloc came together on the eve of the Lok Sabha election. But it is not confined to one single election. It’s not a one election idea.
We need a broad-based opposition unity for this whole juncture. The nature of the political crisis today is such where democracy itself is at stake. Constitution is under attack. It is not possible for any one party to take on a party like the BJP. We need opposition unity. That is the need of the situation.
This is why I think INDIA bloc isn’t strictly state specific. It is not election specific. This is something we need across India for the entire duration of this political period.
I don’t really see any contradiction in parties trying to strengthen their own organizations. For example, if you look at the Bihar election result, 2020, so it was the Congress which actually underperformed, very badly. They took 70 seats and got only 19 seats.
Everybody in the RJD [Rashtriya Janata Dal] would naturally expect the Congress to become a stronger organization, a more dynamic organization. For INDIA coalition to succeed, we need both. We need a strong, stronger Congress, more energized Congress party. And we need, I mean, a strong Left. We need strong regional parties and social justice parties. If every party tries to strengthen itself, it doesn’t go against the idea of a consolidated, cohesive, united front. I think it contributes to the coalition.
I don’t see any clash in it. We had an eight month-long campaign around issues and rights of the rural poor. The RJD has led an independent campaign around issues of the youth. And now, Congress is also trying to consolidate its presence.
When these three parties energise their own ranks, it will help in crystallization of some kind of a common agenda. For example, we focused on high unemployment, poor wages and displacement-related issues. Congress is trying to focus on, let’s say, migration and employment. The RJD has talked about something like the Maiya Samman Yojana in Bihar, rights of women.
All these parties are talking about electricity, education, health. These issues will contribute to the emergence of a more cohesive unified agenda.
Many of us know that Bihar is strongly dependent on how caste groups vote. Do you foresee a different kind of Bihar elections in 2025?
Well definitely. You see, when we talk about caste, often we think of it as static.
But caste is very, very dynamic. It’s not that castes have chosen parties for all times to come. It’s not that the castes are permanently affiliated to one or other party. There are issues which become relevant for some castes. There are some issues which are, let’s say, cutting across castes.
There are questions of livelihood, questions of employment.
But do you see the Mahagathbandhan as adequately socially representative?
Yeah, definitely.
I think it will become more representative because of people’s urge for a change. This government has been there for 20 years. And it has become an absolutely non-performing government now.
And talking about caste, let’s think about it. I mean, there are some people trying to do social engineering by, you know, pitting one caste against another. Currently some parties are playing one Dalit group against another after the SC judgement on sub-categorisation.
But there is something in Bihar which is very, very Bihar-specific. We had a caste survey. And then all the parties in the assembly took a resolution to increase reservation to 65%.
And this is something which can be, you know, implemented if a similar resolution is adopted, incorporated in the ninth schedule of the constitution, like in the case of Tamil Nadu. That’s how Tamil Nadu has 69% reservation, and no court does anything about it because it’s in the ninth schedule.
And once that happens, so all castes benefit. SC reservations will go up from 18 to 20%. ST reservation will go up from 1 to 2%. EBC reservation will go up from 18 to 25%.
The other backward classes will also get 18%. So, all caste blocks within the Bahujan camp stand to gain.
This is something Nitish Kumar had promised, the BJP had supported. And it is for them to explain why, inspite of having a so-called double-engine government, why are they not implementing it.
Last assembly elections, the CPI-ML (Liberation) got 19 seats to contest as part of the opposition alliance and won 12. Do you see it contesting in a greater number of seats this time?
Definitely. The Lok Sabha has once again shown our strength. It has also translated into greater success, greater strike rate for all the alliance partners. That’s how, in South Bihar, we won Arrah and we won Karakat Lok Sabha seats, Congress also won Sasaram because of our support. RJD also has managed to win Buxar, as well as Jehanabad and Pataliputra, and Aurangabad because of an alliance with us.
We are not asking for a fixed quota, like we need 30% seats or something. No. But I believe that a greater representation for the CPI-ML (Liberation) will mean greater success for the whole INDIA coalition. This is something both 2020 and 2024 elections have proved. So, I think definitely we should look at the ground, take a closer look.
Do you have a number in mind, how many should CPI-ML (Liberation) contest?
Right now, we have been confined to only a few districts. But I think there are many other districts where the CPI-ML (Liberation) has a strong presence. So, it has to be widened, first of all.
In South Bihar, in North Bihar too, if you look at Champaran, it’s only the CPI-ML (Liberation) which has managed to win a seat. No other alliance partner has won a single seat in Champaran. The whole Champaran range, with West Champaran in particular.
Similarly, let’s say Mithila. We were given just two seats in Samastipur. No seats in Madhubani, no seats in Darbhanga. I think our presence has to be widened. And that will naturally mean that the number of seats also should go up. Let’s see.
There is a section of observers in Bihar who believe that while the opposition has been good at picking holes in the workings of Bihar government, but they haven’t been able to kind of formulate their own agenda.
Last time, we did have a cohesive kind of an agenda where we made jobs and issues in Bihar. Even Nitish Kumar giving a few, distributing some employment letters now, the party is talking about jobs. We talked about 10 lakhs and then NDA talked about 19 lakhs.
When Nitish Kumar came to Mahagathbandhan briefly between 2022-23, that’s when jobs got distributed, some jobs. I think we have succeeded in highlighting and getting a few things implemented. Education and health, these are two very, very crucial issues for Bihar.
And, in fact, that is going to be the agenda. Because Nitish Kumar continues to talk about development in a mode where he talks only about a few more expressways, a few more airports, some kind of flyovers. I call that whole model the flyover-bypass model, which flies over the real issues and bypasses all the real issues.
The flyover-bypass model is not going to work for Bihar. You need a welfare-oriented model, minimum wages, jobs, education, health. And I am sure this time that will be the focus.
Should we be expecting a common minimum agenda soon?
Yes, we are hopeful. Because last time there was not really a common minimum programme, so to say, but there was some 15 or 20-point kind of a charter.
That came quite late in the day?
Quite late. I am hoping that once the Congress’s yatra is over, all these parties, all of us should sit together and try and work out how to unify this agenda.
Have all the parties been talking with each other for a meeting?
People are in touch. Yes.
The CPI-ML (Liberation) recently published a critique of the CPI(M)’s internal debate on whether BJP is fascist or not. The CPI(M) doesn’t think that BJP can still be called a fascist party while you classify it as one.
To be honest, I really don’t understand this whole debate. I mean, people debating in 2025, when every day, in every sphere of life, people are experiencing this fascist assault.
The entire Muslim community, the Dalits, every university from JNU to Jadavpur, farmers, intellectuals, everybody understands that BJP is only paying lip service to the constitution and subverting and manipulating the electoral system. I don’t really see, understand why there should at all be any debate about it.
Also read: ‘Padyatras’ Take Centre Stage in Bihar as Parties Eye Bypolls, 2025 Assembly Elections
Neo-liberalism definitely is a global context. But in India, let us not forget RSS. It’s a fascist organization built with fascist ideology. And it has been at work relentlessly for 100 years. So just this talking about neoliberalism and neo-fascism, it doesn’t take care of the Indian dimension of the whole fascist story.
Fascism, even in the 20th century, when you had Italy, when you had Germany, was an international phenomenon with very distinct national particularities. History will come into play, culture will come into play, the particular kind of social conditions will come into play.
When we are talking about RSS’s Brahminism, so we are not talking about ordinary kind of Brahminism. We are talking about Adani-sponsored Brahminism.
This is precisely what Ambedkar used to say, Brahminism and capitalism both should be the twin targets of the movement. I think I am really very very disappointed that there should be any debate within the Left. Probably this explains why one of the defining features of fascism is to keep people guessing, keep people divided.
It is for the communists, first of all, to be able to sense the thing and to unite all sections of people who are at the receiving end of the fascists. You can’t expect everybody to resist fascism and to acknowledge fascism on the same level, same plane. That’s not the issue at all.
People are actually confronting it in real life, we should be able to, you know, get them all on board and do it together.
The other thing which also worries me about this whole so-called new path to New Kerala. I don’t really know what is new about it except that the new path that the Kerala government is trying to adopt is decidedly neoliberal.
Is it New Kerala or some kind of neoliberal Kerala which is being talked about? The flirtation with neoliberalism cost the Left enormously in West Bengal. It was Singur and Nandigram, land acquisition, that whole ill-conceived idea of huge private investment, that actually cost the Left-wing government its 34-year rule in Bengal. So, I just wish, hope that nothing similar happens in Kerala.
I hope that good sense prevails and the Left remains consistent in its opposition to privatisation and in its defense of people’s welfare and people’s rights.
What is CPI-ML (Liberation)’s plan of action to take on this kind of fascist challenge right now, especially at a time when there is competitive dole politics among parties?
I think this is not really the case. I don’t look at it that way.
People are demanding their rights. It’s a long-drawn battle. It’s not that people are happy and satisfied with just Rs 2,000 or cash allowances.
People are demanding their rights. Direct transfers and so-called transactional kind of politics is a primary step towards the battle for securing of rights.
The other thing is the 2024 election showed us that nobody had expected the constitution to become such a big issue but it became one. That actually challenged this whole common sense, which says, well, people cannot think about the constitution, that the constitution cannot become an issue.
At a time when America is humiliating India like this, Mohan Bhagwat says that real independence came only with the consecration of the Ram temple, the ruling party is so callous about the whole legacy of our freedom movement. This so-called meta narrative of freedom, constitution, democracy, it’s not just something abstract. These are very concrete issues for the people.
We will keep raising these issues, along with, of course, specific issues like land, wages, jobs, environment. I think environment and climate will also have to a factor now, and increasingly so. I think, people are equally sensitive about to both these aspects, alive to both, and our job is to work on both.
