RED DAWN RISING
It was a near-forgotten sight— College Street boipara (book market), the education hub of Kolkata, awash with red. Left flags with the hammer-sickle-star and buntings with Che Guevara’s silhouette were back. So was the colour that once ruled the city, then consigned to relative obscurity over the past decade following the Trinamool Congress’s overwhelming presence in political signage. The afternoon was a flashback from an earlier era.
Most of the crowd of around 10,000 choking College Street on September 2 for hours, protesting the state and Centre’s handling of the education sector, were young members and supporters of the Students’ Federation of India, the students’ wing of the CPI(M), and the Democratic Youth Federation of India, its youth wing. The crowd sang old tunes celebrating the sweat and toil of labourers and peasants. They talked of a return of democratic rights, a rejection of the divisive politics of religion and identity.
The past decade has seen the inexorable slide of the Left Front in Bengal: its votes share fell to 6.3 per cent in the 2019 Lok Sabha election and to 5.6 per cent in the 2021 assembly polls. From this nadir, there seems to be a recovery. At urban local bodies polls in
THE LEFT’S NEW MOMENTUM IS DRIVEN BY THE YOUTH. THEY HAVE HIT THE ROADS IN OVER 10,000 MARCHES/ RALLIES
Chandannagar, Siliguri, Bidhannagar and Asansol, Left vote share inched up to 16.75 per cent, against 14 per cent of the BJP. In the Kolkata Municipal Corporation polls, its vote share was two percentage points more than that of the BJP and in the assembly bypoll for the Ballygunje seat in April, the Left’s vote share touched 30.1 per cent, an increase of 24 per cent.
Social scientist Prasanta Ray attributes this to the gradual disillusionment of the middle and working classes with the TMC government over many issues, including the alleged sale of teachers’
posts. The SFI was quick to realise that over a hundred thousand candidates who had applied for 18,000 teaching posts for class IX to XII in government schools would not take the scandal lying down. Besides, 200,000-300,000 applicants to primary teachers’ jobs complained of similar irregularities. Sensing their growing anguish, Left student and youth wings hit the ground. Nearly 2,000 meetings and rallies by the SFI and DYFI were held, including a 3,000 km march demanding education for all.
Though it has done poorly in polls, the Left has been flagging issues that need remedy, mostly through its youth brigade. They hit the streets on matters like the digital divide, the rise in the price of cooking gas and food or on government repression of activists. “It was because of our two-month movement in favour of opening schools that the government let students back into classrooms in January 2022,” says Srijan Bhattacharya, the SFI general secretary. “By then, it had opened up everything—political programmes, rallies, Durga puja festivals. School dropout figures were rising, but the government was concerned about the expense on mid-day meals.”
Another surge of protests was over the alleged murder of student leader Anis Khan in February by the state police. The huge participation of students was met with repressive measures by the state. Student leaders like Meenakshi Mukherjee, Mafuz Khan and Sujoy Chakrabarty were imprisoned for 10 days and allegations of torture soon rent the air. An uproar in social media and among the middle class forced the government to relent. Most recently, on September 20, the Left organised another march in Kolkata, demanding ‘Insaf ’ ( justice).
The Left was gathering momentum all through, by cannily evoking an idea of repression, while its street agitations drew in not only top CPI(M) leaders like Mohammed Salim, Sujan Chakrabarty, Shamik Lahiri and Sushanta Ghosh, but also a fresh crop of young, committed ones. The CPI(M) itself had geared up for a more purposive leadership in March, when 64-yearold Salim, an articulate man adept on the national stage, was made Bengal general secretary, replacing the more reserved Medinipur apparatchik, Surjya Kanta Mishra. In a generational shift, 24 young faces were also brought into the 80-member state committee. Some are JNU student union leaders like Dipsita Dhar and Aishe Ghosh, while others like Meenakshi, Mayukh Biswas, Srijan and Pratikur Rahaman are experienced grassroots workers. Since Salim took over, there have been some 10,000 rallies and marches across Bengal. In late August, the CPI(M) spearheaded a well-timed programme in Bardhaman district called Chor dhoro, Jail bhoro (catch the thiefs, throw them in prison). It excoriated corrupt TMC leaders, and saw pitched clashes between CPI(M) members and the police.
That is some distance from 201819, when the Communists were unable to even open party offices due to unremitting TMC aggression. Their weakness translated into a debacle in 2019, when the transfer of Left votes to the BJP gave the latter a 40 per cent vote share. But perhaps the Left’s fortunes are changing. Certainly, it’s holding its ground. With young blood coursing through its veins, another red eruption may well be brewing. ■