There is panic and shock in the CPI leadership over losing the national party status. The election commission has denotified the 100-year-old party as the national party. It is not even a state party in several states. Though everyone in the party knew that the announcement was inevitable, there was shock and dismay when the notification came.
But, the fact is that the CPI's decline has been gradual, but continuous. It was in the making for quite some time. In the 2018 party Congress held at Kollam in Kerala, there were barely 21 MLAs of the party. Of them, 19 were from Kerala, the remaining were from Telangana and West Bengal. Now, the party does not have any MLA in Kerala and Telangana too.
By 1999 itself, the party's total vote in the country was just about 2.5 percent. The party did discuss ways and means to improve its presence among the people but did precious little to remedy the situation. In the 2019 elections, the party could barely secure 0.5 per cent votes in the Lok Sabha elections across the country. One thought the party would lose its national status in 2019 itself.
The party has repeatedly made tactical mistakes and allied with parties that have become hugely unpopular. Consumed by intense and visceral hatred for the BJP, the party aligned with anyone including Congress and the BRS. As a result, the party's popularity has come down considerably. Now, the party has lost even the national status. What a fall for a party that claimed to be the vanguard of the people's aspirations and struggles!!
But, the fact is that the CPI's decline has been gradual, but continuous. It was in the making for quite some time. In the 2018 party Congress held at Kollam in Kerala, there were barely 21 MLAs of the party. Of them, 19 were from Kerala, the remaining were from Telangana and West Bengal. Now, the party does not have any MLA in Kerala and Telangana too.
By 1999 itself, the party's total vote in the country was just about 2.5 percent. The party did discuss ways and means to improve its presence among the people but did precious little to remedy the situation. In the 2019 elections, the party could barely secure 0.5 per cent votes in the Lok Sabha elections across the country. One thought the party would lose its national status in 2019 itself.
The party has repeatedly made tactical mistakes and allied with parties that have become hugely unpopular. Consumed by intense and visceral hatred for the BJP, the party aligned with anyone including Congress and the BRS. As a result, the party's popularity has come down considerably. Now, the party has lost even the national status. What a fall for a party that claimed to be the vanguard of the people's aspirations and struggles!!