CPM faces cadre ‘inexperience’ challenge

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Around 55% have no experience of being in the opposition, while roughly 83% of the total 5.63 lakh CPM members have had no revolutionary encounter ever. Instilling an ideological fervour in them, so as to shape them into true comrades, remains one of the most daunting tasks for the party today.

As the CPM in Keralam gears up for the Extended State Committee meet, aiming to infuse fresh vigour in its rank and file, the party is keen on equipping the cadre to take up mass campaigns. However, the fact remains that a sizable chunk of the current members have never had the experience of fighting from the opposition side.

Being in power for the past decade did create history for the Left, but that seems to have wreaked havoc with respect to the CPM’s organisational skills.

“Going by the party review, around 55% of the members joined after 2016. They have never been in the opposition. Now we have no option but to equip them organisationally, politically and ideologically,” a state committee member told TNIE.

It would be a major task as the party plans to re-energise itself to perform as an effective opposition, observed another senior leader.

“Naturally, they don’t have any experience of taking out major protests. In the past ten years, the party hasn’t taken up any major agitations, other than a few against the Union government.

Similarly, of the total, 83% are entrants after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, which means they haven’t had any experience of being part of revolutionary struggles,” pointed out a senior CPM leader from Kochi.

As the party plans to take on the UDF government, a key focus area would be training new cadre to take up political campaigns.

Keralam has recorded a consistent rise in cadre strength for some time now. Going by the organisational report, party membership in the state rose from 5.27 lakh in 2021 to 5.64 lakh in 2024, according to the latest calculation that was carried out for the 24th Party Congress, held in 2025.

A detailed break-up shows that the representation of youth and women too went up. While 28,000 more women joined the party during the period (up from 19.8% to 22.8%), the youth membership has increased from 23.79% to 29.8%. Similarly, feeder organisations too registered a consistent rise. Membership in mass and class organisations also increased during the period.