Communist Party of India unites national opposition against electoral roll revision

NEW DELHI — The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has emerged as a central rallying force in national opposition politics, uniting parties both within and outside the INDIA bloc against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls by the Election Commission and the Union government.

The mobilisation follows a strategic shift initiated by CPM leadership after the electoral rolls issue surfaced. CPM General Secretary M A Baby wrote to various opposition leaders urging a united response, reaching out to figures including Mamata Banerjee and Arvind Kejriwal. According to party leadership, the politburo recognised on September 23 that the SIR dispute could trigger a paradigm shift in agitation against federal authorities.

This cross-party coordination culminated in an INDIA bloc meeting on September 30, where opposition leaders agreed on a joint programme of political action against the Election Commission. A subsequent protest in Delhi on October 10 brought together senior opposition figures, including Pinarayi Vijayan, Manik Sarkar, Mamata Banerjee, and Arvind Kejriwal.

The development marks a notable shift for the CPM, which had been relegated to the sidelines of national politics for over a decade with severely diminished parliamentary representation. The party’s renewed national footprint builds on past opposition coordination efforts previously sustained by late general secretary Sitaram Yechury, who maintained close ties with leaders like Rahul Gandhi prior to his death in September 2024.

Reflecting on the party’s legislative impact, leader Vijoo Krishnan noted that the CPM previously played a major role in sustained campaigns that forced the Modi administration to withdraw the land acquisition ordinance and farm laws after 2014.

Whether the current wave of cross-party coordination can translate into a more durable political alignment against the Union government remains to be seen.