Ideological clarity may soon be a just a tap away for CPI(M) cadre in Keralam

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CPI(M) leaders raising slogans ahead of the extended State committee meeting in Kozhikode on September 13, 2026. | Photo Credit: K Ragesh

In the coming days, the cadre of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] in Keralam may just need a tap on their mobile phones to clear their ideological confusions.

Developing mobile/web applications to keep party activists updated on political issues is among the suggestions put forward by the participants during the open debate of the party’s ongoing extended State committee meeting in Kozhikode.

According to CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan, the proposal is to strengthen the continuous process of ideological education for the party cadre by including modern technological innovations into it. Special web and mobile applications need to be designed for the purpose, he says. “Suppose if comrades have doubts related to ideological or political issues, such apps can instantly come to their aid,” Mr. Govindan told the media in Kozhikode on Monday (September 14, 2026) afternoon.

Incidentally, a review report brought out by the party’s Central Committee on the Assembly election debacle in Keralam had highlighted the lack of politicisation within the class and mass organisations. The review report says that both the leadership and the cadre “should be politically very sharp” when they are confronted with an adverse situation and are fighting the reactionary ruling classes, who have ganged up against them.

Quoting the review report on the elections prepared by the State committee, the Central Committee had noted “the decline in the number of comrades capable of presenting our political perspectives to the people” and “the lack of adequate politicisation taking place within class and mass organisations”, terming it as a “major organisational weakness.” The report says that even though many classes had ben conducted against communalism, the party had been unable to convert it into a public consciousness.

The three-day extended State committee meeting, which began on September 13, is being held to address the organisational and political weaknesses of the CPI(M) against the backdrop of the dismal performance of the party-led Left Democratic Front in the Assembly polls in Keralam. Apart from State committee members, district secretariat members from across the State and leaders of the party’s class and mass organisations are attending it.

Mr. Govindan had earlier on Sunday presented a draft document prepared by the State committee on the corrective steps required to energise the organisation. Following that, the participants engaged in district-level group discussions. Later, an hour-long open debate by select delegates too was held in the night. The open debate continued on Monday as well.

Talking to the media on Tuesday, Mr. Govindan admitted that fierce criticisms were levelled against the party leadership during the debate, though he did not divulge the details. According to sources, the delegates from across districts sought stronger corrective steps to address the organisational weaknesses. There was also demand to fix accountability on the leadership for the Assembly election debacle.

Mr. Govindan, meanwhile, said that another suggestion had been given to form a collective of like-minded organisations, including human rights groups, to resist the unfair targeting of party leaders by Central agencies.

This could be significant because just around a week before the CPI(M) meeting began in Kozhikode, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had sent a letter to the Kerala State Police Chief seeking registration of a first information report against Opposition leader and CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T. Veena, and her husband and Beypore MLA P.A. Mohamed Riyas in the CMRL-Exalogic pay-off case. Without mentioning the ED’s move, party general secretary M.A. Baby had made a passing reference to the activities of the Central agencies during his inaugural speech on September 13. On the same day, however, Mr. Govindan explicitly referred to the agency’s action as an attack against the party.

The extended meeting is expected to conclude on September 15 afternoon, with Mr. Govindan responding to the remarks made during the open debate. He will also present a report after adding the suggestions proposed by the delegates for the rectification process in the draft document mentioned earlier. This will be followed by a mass rally at the Kozhikode beach in the evening.

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