- Anurag Pathak and Rajesh Tyagi/ 6.1.2018
After poll count in Gujarat on 18th of the last month, BJP has once again emerged as the largest party inside Gujarat Assembly, winning 99 seats with 49.1% of vote shares. With 80 seats and 43.9% of vote share, Congress trailed behind BJP, as the second largest party. Around 1.9% of all votes, more than half a million, fell to NOTA, supposed to be the chunk of disillusioned middle class elements.
BJP has lost 16 seats in number but with a surge of 1.2% in vote share. Congress begged 19 seats with 4% increase in its vote share. The overall turnout has been around 68%, a 3% decrease from the previous election.
All the paid and apologist opinion polls lied lame against the final results.
In its press release, BJP, ironically credited its poll victory to its discredited maneuvers- GST and Demonetisation, taking opportunity to portray the duo as pro-people measures.
On its part, the Congress, in a press release, credited the raise secured by it in vote share and seats, to the widespread discontent in the aftermath of implementation of Demonetisation and then GST. Congress also claimed that the poll mandate is rejection of ‘Fascism’.
Shamefaced CPIM, the largest party in the Stalinist left, that failed to secure even a single seat or any mentionable vote share in the polls, issued its own press release, that claims, “The BJP has won the assembly elections in Gujarat. The results show that where the impact of communal politics is deep, electoral efforts alone are insufficient to defeat the communal forces. What is required is a determined and uncompromising struggle against the communal ideology of Hindutva and the capacity to launch sustained struggles of all sections of the people who suffered from the rightwing economic policies of the Modi government”.
This dubious press statement of Stalinist CPIM, is a direct corollary to their re-turn to take to tail of the Congress. Behind the high sounding phrases and demagogy against communalism and fascism, the real-politik of Stalinists is now to ally themselves to Congress and other parties of bourgeois opposition. Despite all their claims of fighting fascism and communalism, Stalinists have no real program to fight it, except ‘Popular Frontism’ a recipe of open collaboration between the working class and the sections of bourgeoisie, advocated by Stalin in 1935 after crash of his German policy that paved way for the rise of Hitler and Nazism under him, to power. Popular Frontism has a shameful history of its own in tagging the working class behind the liberals. Having least faith in the strength of the international working class, Stalinists reject the idea advanced by Leon Trotsky of a United Front among the working class. Adhered to the bankrupt program of popular Frontism, Stalinists rely upon the liberal bourgeoisie in their assumed struggle against fascism, that never goes behind the realpolitik of election alliances with bourgeois liberal parties. In allying themselves behind parties of bourgeois opposition, Stalinists categorically reject the Marxist dictum that the fight against fascism is part of and subordinate to the overall struggle of the working class against capitalism.
In preparing for the 22nd Party Congress, the CPIM leadership is intensely engaged in deliberating upon such alliances with bourgeois parties. The two main factions of the Stalinist CPIM, led by its leaders Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury, fully agree with each other that popular fronts be forged with bourgeois parties of opposition. Their only dispute remains over choosing the partners in the alliance. The two contending camps of CPIM are divided on regional lines. While the Kerala faction led by Karat is for an alliance with bourgeois parties excluding Congress, the West Bengal faction led by Yechuri is strongly in favour of Congress. Even this debate is not guided by any principle, but by their immediate and sectarian political compulsions and pragmatic exigencies. CPIM leading the LDF in Kerala is facing Congress led UDF as its main opposition party, while in West Bengal Mamata Banerjee’s TMC is the main rival to Stalinist Left Front led by CPIM.
This pragmatism has been the chief destroyer of the revolutionary movement and its subordination to the establishment of the capitalists the world over for over a century.
Giving huge concessions to the bourgeois opposition, Stalinists have turned blind eye and thus failed to draw important conclusions from polls and poll results. These conclusions, unambiguously mark the impotence not only of liberal opposition but of Stalinist themselves.
Despite the presence of widespread discontent and disillusionment of the people from ruling BJP, the liberals and Stalinists are not looked upon as better alternative to BJP rule. These opposition parties and the Stalinists as well have a long trail of criminal past of their own. Leaders of Congress and other parties of the opposition, have been frontrunners in pilferage and loot of public exchequer through most dishonest means. While Congress has opened up the threshold to neo-liberal regime in 1991, all other parties, including those of the Stalinist left, have sincerely implemented the policies that commensurate with this regime.
Far from an idea of independent assertion of the working class during Gujarat elections, the Stalinists, kept sitting on the tails of Congress leaders and the demagogue caste-leaders like Jignesh Mewani, Alpesh Thakor and Hardik Patel. Servile Stalinists in most pitiful way campaigned for these rightwing caste turks.
This has been the sixth win for the BJP in row in Gujarat. After the 2014 General Elections to the Parliament, that had brought BJP to power in the centre, Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, became the Prime Minister of the country, leaving Anandiben Patel, his closest aide at the time in the seat of the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Later, in the aftermath of the agitations of Patidars, Dalits against misrule and poor governance, Anandiben was replaced by Vijay Rupani as the Chief Minister.
Despite all the disillusionment of the masses from the successive capitalist governments, no viable alternative could be presented by the left as it reels under the bogus rightist program and domination of Stalinists. Stalinists have subordinated the left movement to the essentially rightwing parties- Congress, Ambedkarites, and their leaders.
After poll count in Gujarat on 18th of the last month, BJP has once again emerged as the largest party inside Gujarat Assembly, winning 99 seats with 49.1% of vote shares. With 80 seats and 43.9% of vote share, Congress trailed behind BJP, as the second largest party. Around 1.9% of all votes, more than half a million, fell to NOTA, supposed to be the chunk of disillusioned middle class elements.
BJP has lost 16 seats in number but with a surge of 1.2% in vote share. Congress begged 19 seats with 4% increase in its vote share. The overall turnout has been around 68%, a 3% decrease from the previous election.
All the paid and apologist opinion polls lied lame against the final results.
In its press release, BJP, ironically credited its poll victory to its discredited maneuvers- GST and Demonetisation, taking opportunity to portray the duo as pro-people measures.
On its part, the Congress, in a press release, credited the raise secured by it in vote share and seats, to the widespread discontent in the aftermath of implementation of Demonetisation and then GST. Congress also claimed that the poll mandate is rejection of ‘Fascism’.
Shamefaced CPIM, the largest party in the Stalinist left, that failed to secure even a single seat or any mentionable vote share in the polls, issued its own press release, that claims, “The BJP has won the assembly elections in Gujarat. The results show that where the impact of communal politics is deep, electoral efforts alone are insufficient to defeat the communal forces. What is required is a determined and uncompromising struggle against the communal ideology of Hindutva and the capacity to launch sustained struggles of all sections of the people who suffered from the rightwing economic policies of the Modi government”.
This dubious press statement of Stalinist CPIM, is a direct corollary to their re-turn to take to tail of the Congress. Behind the high sounding phrases and demagogy against communalism and fascism, the real-politik of Stalinists is now to ally themselves to Congress and other parties of bourgeois opposition. Despite all their claims of fighting fascism and communalism, Stalinists have no real program to fight it, except ‘Popular Frontism’ a recipe of open collaboration between the working class and the sections of bourgeoisie, advocated by Stalin in 1935 after crash of his German policy that paved way for the rise of Hitler and Nazism under him, to power. Popular Frontism has a shameful history of its own in tagging the working class behind the liberals. Having least faith in the strength of the international working class, Stalinists reject the idea advanced by Leon Trotsky of a United Front among the working class. Adhered to the bankrupt program of popular Frontism, Stalinists rely upon the liberal bourgeoisie in their assumed struggle against fascism, that never goes behind the realpolitik of election alliances with bourgeois liberal parties. In allying themselves behind parties of bourgeois opposition, Stalinists categorically reject the Marxist dictum that the fight against fascism is part of and subordinate to the overall struggle of the working class against capitalism.
In preparing for the 22nd Party Congress, the CPIM leadership is intensely engaged in deliberating upon such alliances with bourgeois parties. The two main factions of the Stalinist CPIM, led by its leaders Prakash Karat and Sitaram Yechury, fully agree with each other that popular fronts be forged with bourgeois parties of opposition. Their only dispute remains over choosing the partners in the alliance. The two contending camps of CPIM are divided on regional lines. While the Kerala faction led by Karat is for an alliance with bourgeois parties excluding Congress, the West Bengal faction led by Yechuri is strongly in favour of Congress. Even this debate is not guided by any principle, but by their immediate and sectarian political compulsions and pragmatic exigencies. CPIM leading the LDF in Kerala is facing Congress led UDF as its main opposition party, while in West Bengal Mamata Banerjee’s TMC is the main rival to Stalinist Left Front led by CPIM.
This pragmatism has been the chief destroyer of the revolutionary movement and its subordination to the establishment of the capitalists the world over for over a century.
Giving huge concessions to the bourgeois opposition, Stalinists have turned blind eye and thus failed to draw important conclusions from polls and poll results. These conclusions, unambiguously mark the impotence not only of liberal opposition but of Stalinist themselves.
Despite the presence of widespread discontent and disillusionment of the people from ruling BJP, the liberals and Stalinists are not looked upon as better alternative to BJP rule. These opposition parties and the Stalinists as well have a long trail of criminal past of their own. Leaders of Congress and other parties of the opposition, have been frontrunners in pilferage and loot of public exchequer through most dishonest means. While Congress has opened up the threshold to neo-liberal regime in 1991, all other parties, including those of the Stalinist left, have sincerely implemented the policies that commensurate with this regime.
Far from an idea of independent assertion of the working class during Gujarat elections, the Stalinists, kept sitting on the tails of Congress leaders and the demagogue caste-leaders like Jignesh Mewani, Alpesh Thakor and Hardik Patel. Servile Stalinists in most pitiful way campaigned for these rightwing caste turks.
This has been the sixth win for the BJP in row in Gujarat. After the 2014 General Elections to the Parliament, that had brought BJP to power in the centre, Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, became the Prime Minister of the country, leaving Anandiben Patel, his closest aide at the time in the seat of the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Later, in the aftermath of the agitations of Patidars, Dalits against misrule and poor governance, Anandiben was replaced by Vijay Rupani as the Chief Minister.
Disenchantment of the people from the bourgeois leaders was so complete that five top leaders and serving Ministers of BJP had to lose. Even Speaker of Gujarat Assembly, Ramanlal Vora was defeated. Top Congress leaders Arjun Modwadia, Shaktisinh Gohil, Tushar Chaudhury and Siddharth Patel also lost.
Despite all the disillusionment of the masses from the successive capitalist governments, no viable alternative could be presented by the left as it reels under the bogus rightist program and domination of Stalinists. Stalinists have subordinated the left movement to the essentially rightwing parties- Congress, Ambedkarites, and their leaders.
With all media focus upon Gujarat elections inside the fortress of hindu-chauvinist BJP, the elections in Himachal, that have resulted in complete rout of the ruling Congress and another sweeping victory for the BJP, have paled into the background. Results in Himachal are no less important politically. If they are read with the results of Gujarat, the picture becomes more unambiguous. The fall and defeat of corrupt, anti-people and discredited Congress regime in Himachal has totally ratified our view that the liberals present no alternative to fascist BJP and any alliances with them would only result in facilitating the advance of fascists.
Fascism cannot be fought in any alliance with the sections of bourgeoisie, their leaders or the parties, but only through a united front of the workers supported by the billions of toilers.
Poll victory of BJP and the rise in its vote share alongside the raise in seats and vote share of Congress has further and totally marginalized the politics of the working class and is direct corollary to and outcome of the same. Stalinists are chiefly responsible for this as they continue to bind their supporters among the youth, workers and toilers to the bogey of the bourgeois leaders and parties under them. These fake communists are in fact gagging the left movement and preventing the workers and youth from mounting an independent and decisive offensive upon capitalism.
Whatever be the poll results, in the absence of a genuine leadership of the left movement, there cannot be any victory for the workers and poors.
Mere shuffling of vote shares and seats among the bourgeois parties, irrespective of a win or loss for these parties and leaders, are a sure-shot setback for the mass of workers, toilers and the poor.
Immediate tasks before Marxist revolutionaries, as part of their overall strategic struggle against fascism and capitalism, are- firstly, uprooting of pseudo-left in an impeccable fight for organization of an indepndent Marxist Revolutionary Party, and secondly, mobilization of all workers and toilers in a united front against fascism and capitalism, while rejecting all alliances with sections of the bourgeoisie and complete break with those who enter into such alliances or advocate them.
Fascism cannot be fought in any alliance with the sections of bourgeoisie, their leaders or the parties, but only through a united front of the workers supported by the billions of toilers.
Poll victory of BJP and the rise in its vote share alongside the raise in seats and vote share of Congress has further and totally marginalized the politics of the working class and is direct corollary to and outcome of the same. Stalinists are chiefly responsible for this as they continue to bind their supporters among the youth, workers and toilers to the bogey of the bourgeois leaders and parties under them. These fake communists are in fact gagging the left movement and preventing the workers and youth from mounting an independent and decisive offensive upon capitalism.
Whatever be the poll results, in the absence of a genuine leadership of the left movement, there cannot be any victory for the workers and poors.
Mere shuffling of vote shares and seats among the bourgeois parties, irrespective of a win or loss for these parties and leaders, are a sure-shot setback for the mass of workers, toilers and the poor.
Immediate tasks before Marxist revolutionaries, as part of their overall strategic struggle against fascism and capitalism, are- firstly, uprooting of pseudo-left in an impeccable fight for organization of an indepndent Marxist Revolutionary Party, and secondly, mobilization of all workers and toilers in a united front against fascism and capitalism, while rejecting all alliances with sections of the bourgeoisie and complete break with those who enter into such alliances or advocate them.
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