CPI(M) Will Have to Reinvent to Take on the BJP

MA Baby, newly elected general secretary of the CPI(M), said it is important for the party to reinvent itself, and reach out to the young as it takes on the BJP and the RSS.

- Saubhadra Chatterji

NEW DELHI: Edited excerpts from an interview:

What are the three top priorities for you as the general secretary of the CPI(M)?

We have to harness secular, democratic political forces to expose the Narendra Modi government. We have to start working for the next round of elections including Bihar, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The problem in West Bengal and Kerala is that all the forces of the INDIA bloc cannot come together. But we should ensure that it should not be an advantage to the BJP.

Our task is also to improve the independent strength of CPI(M) and other Left forces. We have to have a very well-planned approach of mobilizing larger sections behind the communist parties to take on the fascist RSS-controlled BJP. But a clear-cut economic programme is lacking in the approach of many non-left political parties.