People's Democracy

VICTORY CELEBRATED IN DELHI

Sahiram

A K Goalan Bhawan, the CPI(M) headquarters in Delhi, was in a celebratory mood since the morning hours on May 11. All the party cadres here were full of enthusiasm and zeal over the prospect of winning the assembly elections in Kerala and West Bengal. That the party led fronts in these states were going to win by heavy margins was clear as soon as the vote counting started. By noon, their victory was more than confirmed.

To be sure, the CPI(M) was quite confident of this victory, days in advance. That was the reason the party office was already decorated with strings of red flags. If the cadres were waiting for something, it was only for a formal announcement of victory. Sweets were being distributed since morning.

At about 1 in the afternoon, a big victory procession of party cadres, organised by the Delhi state committee, came to A K G Bhawan, and the celebrations started. The whole area reverberated with revolutionary slogans. These cadres were playing upon drums, bursting crackers, distributing sweets and dancing with joy. Party leaders came out to greet the procession and their presence further enthused the cadres. The enthusiasm reached an indescribable level as soon as the party’s veteran leader, Harkishan Singh Surjeet, reached the headquarters.

Speaking on the occasion, CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat sent his revolutionary greetings to the people of West Bengal for giving their mandate to the CPI(M) led Left Front for the record seventh time in a row; moreover, the front has scored a four-fifth majority in the assembly there. He also thanked the Election Commission, which held the assembly elections in Bengal in an unprecedented five phases, for creating an occasion when all the allegations labelled against the CPI(M) and the Left during the last 25 years or so have proved to be utterly baseless. The steps taken by the Election Commission have not only proved the so-called theory of “scientific rigging” and the like as unfounded and motivated; in fact the Left has received a much bigger mandate in the state. The CPI(M) alone has received 176 seats in the assembly, much more than the half-way mark of 147.

Prakash Karat also greeted the people of Kerala where the CPI(M) led Left and Democratic Front (LDF) scored a two-thirds majority. Here the people have thoroughly rejected the Congress led UDF for its five years of misrule. He said these elections have heightened the prestige of the CPI(M) and the Left, and would further increase their role and capacity of intervention in national politics. He urged the party cadres to take the party’s policies and programme to the people in order to win their support in ever increasing measure.

Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury also congratulated the people of West Bengal and Kerala for this victory. He said the Election Commission did not trust the police personnel and officials of Bengal and inducted the police personnel and officials for poll duty, from outside the state. But the CPI(M) had already told them that none would be able to defeat the Left Front there unless they brought voters from outside. Yechury said it was not as if there was no alternative. The people elected whomsoever they thought could provide an alternative. It was the Left versus the Congress in Kerala and West Bengal, and the people elected the Left in both states. We put forward an alternative before them and they have extended support to our alternative policies. 

Yechury said we are fighting for the people’s interests while extending support to the UPA government at the centre. The people have appreciated our standpoint and expressed faith in us, thus further strengthening the Left. They have expectations from us and we have to fulfil them. We would fight for it and press the UPA regime to implement pro-people policies. The party cadres have to exert themselves further to increase our intervening capacity.

Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat remembered the sacrifices made by party members and supporters in both these states. In Bengal, some 5,000 of our cadres have courted martyrdom while taking the party’s message to the people. Many were martyred in Kerala also. Brinda Karat paid homage to all these martyrs on the occasion of this victory, to which their sacrifices have contributed a lot. Regarding the Election Commission directives, she said the commission ordered the cleaning of all the wall graffiti in the state but could not erase what was etched on the people’s hearts.

On this occasion, she also remembered the late Comrade Anil Biswas, former Polit Bureau member and West Bengal state secretary of the CPI(M), who was the architect of this victory. Before he recently died, he had expressed faith that we would win a bigger majority in these polls, and that we have. She reminded the cadres of late Comrade Biswas’ exhortation to go to the masses and be in the midst of their struggles.

Former CPI(M) general secretary and veteran leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet said socialism was our goal even when we were fighting for the country’s freedom. The latest victory, he said, would take that struggle for socialism ahead. There were many occasions in the past when attempts were made to crush and decimate the communists, and we successfully fought all such attempts. It was through such adversities that we have now reached such a stage. This is an occasion of celebration indeed, but also to have confidence that we would one day certainly achieve our goal.