CPM What is the reality behind the figures presented at the Party Congress in Kannur regarding membership? Is the figures being swindled or is it hiding the fact that even the members have left the party? Consecutively, the party records admit that it has lost ground in Bengal and Tripura, which have ruled for decades, and there is a huge discrepancy between the membership figures and the number of votes cast in the elections. The party is being blamed for the figures, including in Kerala, which claims party growth.
Such a comparison is irrelevant as party members are generally low in other states. Given the number of members of class and mass organizations in Kerala, along with Bengal and Tripura, and the number of votes cast in the elections, the credibility of the figures presented by the party will be questioned. While acknowledging the party’s massive dropouts in Bengal and Tripura, it has been reported that the party has lakhs of members in its class and mass organizations.
Party members are generally members of any of these mass organizations. But not all members of mass organizations have party affiliation, but they do have party affiliation. At the same time, they are considered to be staunch party members. With so many members in mass organizations, the party’s electoral setbacks and vote losses in Bengal and Tripura are shocking. It is doubtful that all these organizations, which have lakhs of members, including in Kerala, have been exaggerated. This should be seen as an attempt by the state elements to ensure that the party does not lose power.
Yet the party did not win!
When the Party Congress makes such a figure, it must be assumed that even members of class and mass organizations in Bengal and Tripura have left the party and voted for their rivals, the BJP and the Trinamool. According to a report submitted to the party congress, all the mass organizations now have 6,491,698 members in Bengal and 4,38,239 in Tripura. In 2017, it was 80,80,282 in Bengal and 10,32,369 in Tripura. But the low turnout of the CPM and its allies in the last few elections calls into question the credibility of the party’s figures.
While the mass organizations are said to have 64 lakh members, the party did not win a single seat in the last assembly elections in Bengal. It received just 28,43,434 (4.71 per cent) votes. Out of the 139 seats contested, bail was lost in 120 constituencies. In addition, the Congress and other Left candidates, who contested as the Front, got only 49.8 lakh votes in the state. The fall of the CPM, which has ruled Bengal for 34 years, came at a time when the Trinamool got 2.89 crore votes and the BJP 2.29 crore. In 252 seats, the Front lost even the bail number.
In the 2016 elections in Bengal, he contested with the Congress and won 22 seats in the Assembly, gaining 19.15 (108 lakh) votes. But three years later, the party collapsed in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, losing all the seats and collapsing to just 6 per cent of the vote. In 2017, it was reported that the party and organizations had 80 lakh members. The party can only watch the loss of 10,16,794 workers ‘unions and 53,17,317 farmers’ unions, 17,46,171, between the BJP and Trinamool.
Nose in Tripura!
The situation is no different in Tripura. In 2017, the CPM and mass organizations had 10,32,369 members. But in the 2018 elections, decades of rule were lost. It fell from 50 seats to 16. But it was a relief to get 9,92,605 votes. A year later the story changed and the party membership was just a paper count. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won a landslide victory in both the Lok Sabha seats in Tripura.
Even now, the CPM has 50,612 members and the mass organizations have 4,38,241 members, while the party’s candidates received only 3,72,138 votes. In last year’s local body elections, the CPM had almost no seats to contest. He won only less than ten panchayat seats in the state. Given these figures, those state elements will have to answer whether membership in nutrient organizations has been exaggerated.
Where is the vote in Kerala?
While the party is hosting the Congress with the title of the state with the highest number of party members, the figures in Kerala are also confusing. The number of party members increased from 4,63,472 in 2017 to 5,27,174. The state also got a good majority and continued rule. But the figures suggest that Kerala did not get the same number of votes as the party claims, class and mass strength.
The only hope for the party in Kerala is that it will get more votes than in the 2016 assembly elections. The party records show that there are 10,145,031 members in mass organizations in Kerala. However, the party-led Left Front got only 86 lakh votes in the 2021 Assembly elections. 70 lakh in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Out of the total 10,25,352 members of the party in the country, 5,27,174 are in Kerala. According to the report, there are more than one crore people with the party in Kerala, including 23,81,146 in trade unions, 52,60,505 in farmers’ unions and 25,01,380 in agricultural workers. While the party is fading in other states, the party estimates that 30 per cent of Kerala’s population is CPM. But if there are members as the party claims, it should be checked whether the party’s vote in Kerala is leaked in the Assembly elections. Observers point out that when everything is forgotten in the wake of the election victory, it is a total darkness in the face of inconsistencies in the party’s calculations.
English Summary: How many Members are there in CPM? Do the Party Report Showing Real Numbers?