Communist Party of India



         


The Communist Party of India (CPI) is a political party in India. In the Indian communist movement there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 december 1925. But the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which is a split-off from CPI, claims that the party was founded in USSR in 1920.

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Communist during the colonial period

During the 1920s and beginning of 1930s the party was badly organized, and in practice there were several communist groups working with limited national coordination. The British colonial authorities had banned all communist activity, which made the task of building a party very difficult. Only in 1935 was the party ready to be accepted as the Indian section of the communist Third International.

I connection with the change of policy of the ComIntern toward Popular Front politics, the Indian communists changed their relation to the Indian National Congress. The communists joined the Congress Socialist Party, the leftwing of Congress. In Kerala communists won control over CSP, and for a brief period controlled Congress there.

During the Second World War the were drastic changed for the Indian communists. After that the USSR had sided with Britain in the war, the Communist Party of India was legalized for the first time. Communists strengthened their control over the All India Trade Union Congress. At the same time, communists were politically cornered for their nonsupport to the Quit India Movement.

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Communists after Independence

During the period around and directly following Independence in 1947 the internal situation in the party was chaotic. The party shifted rapidly between leftist and rightist positions. In several areas the party led armed struggles against a series of local monarchs that were reluctant to give up their power. Such insurgencies took place in Tripura, Tebghana and Kerala. The most important rebellion took place in Telegana, against the Nizam of Hyderabad. Communist built up a people's army and militia and controlled an area with a population of three million. The rebellion was brutally crushed and the party left the armed struggle. In the general elections in 1957, CPI emerged as the largest opposition party.

In 1957 CPI won the state elections in Kerala. This was the first time that a opposition party won control over an Indian state. E. M. S. Namboodiripad became Chief Minister.

A serious division surged in 1962. One reason was the Indo-China border conflict, where they Soviet loyalists part of the Indian communists backed the position of the Indian government, whereas the oppositional tendency claimed that it was a conflict between a socialist and a capitalist state. The split was completed in 1964 when two parallell party conferences were held, one of CPI and one of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

During the period 1970-77 CPI was allied with Congress. In Kerala there was government together with Congress, with the CPI-leader Achutha Menon as Cheif Minister. After the fall of the regime of Indira Gandhi, CPI reoriented itself towards cooperation with CPI(M).

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Present situation

CPI is recognized by the Election Comminsion of India as a "National Party".

On the national level they support new Indian National Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, but without taking part in it.

In West Bengal and Tripura it participates in Left Front-governments. It is also taking part in the state government in Manipur. In Kerala the party is part of Left Democratic Front. In Tamil Nadu it is part of the Progressive Democratic Alliance.

The current general secretary of CPI is A.B. Bardhan.

The principal mass organizations of CPI are:


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Lok Sabha Election Results



State No. of candidates 2004 No. of elected 2004 No. of candidates 1999 No. of elected 1999 Totalt no. of seats from the state
Andhra Pradesh 1 1 6 0 42
Arunachal Pradesh 0 0 0 0 2
Assam 1 0 1 0 14
Bihar 6 0 9 0 40 (2004)/54(1999)
Chhattisgarh 1 0 - - 11 (2004)
Goa 2 0 2 0 2
Gujarat 0 0 1 0 26
Haryana 0 0 0 0 10
Himachal Pradesh 0 0 1 0 4
Jammu och Kashmir 0 0 0 0 6
Jharkhand 1 1 - - 14 (2004)
Karnataka 0 0 0 0 28
Kerala 4 3 4 0 20
Madhya Pradesh 2 0 1 0 29 (2004)/40(1999)
Maharashtra 1 0 2 0 48
Manipur 1 0 1 0 2
Meghalaya 0 0 2 0 2
Mizoram 0 0 0 0 1
Nagaland 0 0 0 0 1
Orissa 0 0 3 0 21
Punjab 1 0 1 1 13
Rajasthan 2 0 4 0 25
Sikkim 0 0 0 0 1
Tamil Nadu 2 2 2 0 39
Tripura 0 0 0 0 2
Uttar Pradesh 6 0 11 0 80 (2004)/85 (1999)
Uttaranchal 0 0 - - 5 (2004)
West Bengal 3 3 3 3 42
Unionsterritorier:
Andaman & Nicobar 0 0 0 0 1
Chandigarh 0 0 0 0 1
Dadra and Nagar Haveli 0 0 0 0 1
Daman and Diu 0 0 0 0 1
Delhi 0 0 0 0 7
Lakshadweep 0 0 0 0 1
Pondicherry 0 0 0 0 1
Total: 34 10 54 4 543
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State Election Results

State No. of candidates No. of electedTotal no. of seats in AssemblyYear of Election
Andhra Pradesh1262942004
Assam1901262001
Bihar15353242000
Chhattisgarh180902003
Delhi20702003
Goa30402002
Gujarat101812002
Haryana100902000
Himachal Pradesh70682003
Jammu and Kashmir50872002
Karnataka502242004
Kerala2271402001
Madhya Pradesh1702302003
Maharashtra1902881999
Manipur165602002
Meghalaya30602003
Mizoram40402003
Orissa611472004
Pondicherry20302001
Punjab1121172002
Rajasthan1502002003
Tamil Nadu852342001
Tripura21602003
Uttar Pradesh504022002
Uttaranchal140702002
West Bengal1372942001

Results from the Election Commission of India website. Results does not deal with partitions of states (Bihar was bifurcated after the 2000 election, creating Jharkhand), defections and by-elections during the mandate period.

See also: List of political parties in India, Politics of India, List of Communist Parties

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