Communist Party Of India (Marxist) Politicians From Telangana
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The Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest
Marxist–Leninist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialect ...
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
party in
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day
Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...
(formerly known as
Cawnpore Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...
) on 26 December 1925.


History


Formation

The Communist Party of India was formed on 26 December 1925 at the first Party Conference in
Kanpur Kanpur or Cawnpore ( /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (help·info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one of the most important commercial and military stations o ...
, which was then known as ''Cawnpore''. Its founders included
M. N. Roy Manabendra Nath Roy (born Narendra Nath Bhattacharya, better known as M. N. Roy; 21 March 1887 – 25 January 1954) was an Indian revolutionary, radical activist and political theorist, as well as a noted philosopher in the 20th century. Roy ...
, his wife Evelyn Trent,
Abani Mukherji Abaninath Mukherji ( bn, অবনীনাথ মুখার্জি, russian: Абанинатх Трайлович Мукерджи, 3 June 1891 – 28 October 1937) was an Indian communist and émigré based in the USSR, Soviet Union who c ...
, and M. P. T. Acharya.
S.V. Ghate Sachchidanand Vishnu Ghate (December 14, 1896 – November 28, 1970), also known as S.V. Ghate, was a freedom fighter and first General Secretary of the Communist Party of India.''SV Ghate: First General Secretary of CPI'', in ''New Age Weekly' ...
was the first General Secretary of CPI. There were many communist groups formed by Indians with the help of foreigners in different parts of the world, Tashkent group of Contacts were made with
Anushilan Anushilan Samiti ( bn, অনুশীলন সমিতি, , bodybuilding society) was an Indian fitness club, which was actually used as an underground society for anti-British revolutionaries. In the first quarter of the 20th century it su ...
and Jugantar the groups in
Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
, and small communist groups were formed in
Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
(led by
S.A. Dange Shripad Amrut Dange (10 October 1899 – 22 May 1991) was an Indian Politician who was a founding member of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and a stalwart of Indian trade union movement. During the 20th century, Dange was arrested by the ...
),
Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
(led by
Singaravelu Chettiar Malayapuram Singaravelu (18 February 1860 – 11 February 1946), also known as M. Singaravelu and Singaravelar, was a pioneer in more than one field in India. In 1918, he founded the first trade union in India. On 1 May 1923 he organised the fir ...
), United Provinces (led by
Shaukat Usmani Shaukat Usmani (Maulla Bux Usta) (1901–1978) was an early Indian communist, who was born to artistic USTA family of Bikaner and a member of the émigré Communist Party of India (Tashkent group), established in Tashkent in 1920, and a founding ...
),
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
,
Sindh Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
(led by Ghulam Hussain) and
Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
(led by Muzaffar Ahmed).


Involvement in independence struggle

During the 1920s and the early 1930s the party was badly organised, and in practice there were several communist groups working with limited national co-ordination. The government had banned all communist activity, which made the task of building a united party very difficult. Between 1921 and 1924 there were three conspiracy trials against the communist movement; First
Peshawar Conspiracy Case The Peshawar Conspiracy Cases were a set of five legal cases which took place between 1922 and 1927 in British India. The mujahirs, a group of muslims, were inspired from communist revolution and went to USSR for training in 1920. Some of the ret ...
,
Meerut Conspiracy Case The Meerut Conspiracy Case was a controversial court case that was initiated in British Raj in March 1929 and decided in 1933. Several trade unionists, including three Englishmen, were arrested for organizing an Indian railway strike. The Bri ...
and the
Kanpur Bolshevik Conspiracy Case The Kanpur Bolshevik conspiracy case was a controversial court case initiated in British India in 1924. After Peshawar in 1922, two more conspiracy cases were instituted by the British government, one in Kanpur (1924) and Meerut (1929). The acc ...
. In the first three cases, Russian-trained muhajir communists were put on trial. However, the Cawnpore trial had more political impact. On 17 March 1924,
Shripad Amrit Dange Shripad Amrut Dange (10 October 1899 – 22 May 1991) was an Indian Politician who was a founding member of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and a stalwart of Indian trade union movement. During the 20th century, Dange was arrested by the a ...
,
M.N. Roy Manabendra Nath Roy (born Narendra Nath Bhattacharya, better known as M. N. Roy; 21 March 1887 – 25 January 1954) was an Indian revolutionary, radical activist and political theorist, as well as a noted philosopher in the 20th century. Roy ...
, Muzaffar Ahmed, Nalini Gupta, Shaukat Usmani,
Singaravelu Chettiar Malayapuram Singaravelu (18 February 1860 – 11 February 1946), also known as M. Singaravelu and Singaravelar, was a pioneer in more than one field in India. In 1918, he founded the first trade union in India. On 1 May 1923 he organised the fir ...
, Ghulam Hussain and R.C. Sharma were charged, in Cawnpore (now spelt Kanpur) Bolshevik Conspiracy case. The specific pip charge was that they as communists were seeking "to deprive the King Emperor of his sovereignty of British India, by complete separation of India from Britain by a violent revolution." Pages of newspapers daily splashed sensational communist plans and people for the first time learned, on such a large scale, about communism and its doctrines and the aims of the Communist International in India.Ralhan, O.P. (ed.) ''Encyclopedia of Political Parties'' New Delhi: Anmol Publications p. 336, Rao. p. 89-91. Singaravelu Chettiar was released on account of illness. M.N. Roy was in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and R.C. Sharma in French Pondichéry, and therefore could not be arrested. Ghulam Hussain confessed that he had received money from the Russians in
Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
and was pardoned. Muzaffar Ahmed, Nalini Gupta, Shaukat Usmani and Dange were sentenced for various terms of imprisonment. This case was responsible for actively introducing communism to a larger Indian audience. Dange was released from prison in 1927. Rahul Dev Pal was a prominent communist leader On 26 December 1925 a communist conference was organised in Kanpur. Government authorities estimated that 500 persons took part in the conference. The conference was convened by a man called
Satya Bhakta Satyabhakta (Hindi: सत्यभक्त) (2 April 1897 – 3 December 1985) who used the mononym, was one of the founders of the Communist Party of India December 25-28, 1925 at Kanpur (then spelled Cawnpore). Biography Early life Satyabha ...
. At the conference Satyabhakta argued for a ' National communism' and against subordination under Comintern. Being outvoted by the other delegates, Satyabhakta left the conference venue in protest. The conference adopted the name 'Communist Party of India'. Groups such as
Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan was a political party in India. The party was founded by Singaravelu Chettiar on 1 May 1923 in Madras. This was the first May Day celebration in India. This was also the first time the red flag was used in Ind ...
(LKPH) dissolved into the CPI. The émigré CPI, which probably had little organic character anyway, was effectively substituted by the organisation now operating inside India. Soon after the 1926 conference of the Workers and Peasants Party of Bengal, the underground CPI directed its members to join the provincial Workers and Peasants Parties. All open communist activities were carried out through Workers and Peasants Parties. The sixth congress of the Communist International met in 1928. In 1927 the
Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
had turned on the Chinese communists, which led to a review of the policy on forming alliances with the national bourgeoisie in the colonial countries. The Colonial theses of the 6th Comintern congress called upon the Indian communists to combat the 'national-reformist leaders' and to 'unmask the national reformism of the
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
and oppose all phrases of the Swarajists, Gandhists, etc. about passive resistance'.Saha, Murari Mohan (ed.), ''Documents of the Revolutionary Socialist Party: Volume One 1938–1947''. Agartala: Lokayata Chetana Bikash Society, 2001. p. 21-25 The congress did however differentiate between the character of the Chinese Kuomintang and the Indian Swarajist Party, considering the latter as neither a reliable ally nor a direct enemy. The congress called on the Indian communists to utilise the contradictions between the national bourgeoisie and the British imperialists. The congress also denounced the WPP. The Tenth Plenum of the Executive Committee of the Communist International, 3 July 192919 July 1929, directed the Indian communists to break with WPP. When the communists deserted it, the WPP fell apart. On 20 March 1929, arrests against WPP, CPI and other labour leaders were made in several parts of India, in what became known as the Meerut Conspiracy Case. The communist leadership was now put behind bars. The trial proceedings were to last for four years. As of 1934, the main centres of activity of CPI were Bombay, Calcutta and Punjab. The party had also begun extending its activities to Madras. A group of Andhra and Tamil students, amongst them
P. Sundarayya Puchalapalli Sundarayya (Born Sundararami Reddy on 1 May 1913 – 19 May 1985) popularly known as Comrade PS was an Indian Communist politician leader including of the peasant revolt in the former Hyderabad State of India, called the Telangan ...
, were recruited to the CPI by Amir Hyder Khan.
E.M.S. Namboodiripad Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad (13 June 1909 – 19 March 1998), popularly known as EMS, was an Indian communist politician and theorist, who served as the first Chief Minister of Kerala in 1957–1959 and then again in 1967–1969. A ...
. ''The Communist Party in Kerala – Six Decades of Struggle and Advance''. New Delhi: National Book Centre, 1994. p. 7
The party was reorganised in 1933, after the communist leaders from the Meerut trials were released. A central committee of the party was set up. In 1934 the party was accepted as the Indian section of the Communist International. When Indian left-wing elements formed the
Congress Socialist Party The Congress Socialist Party (CSP) was a socialist caucus within the Indian National Congress. It was founded in 1934 by Congress members who rejected what they saw as the anti-rational mysticism of Gandhi as well as the sectarian attitude of th ...
in 1934, the CPI branded it as
Social Fascist Social fascism (also socio-fascism) was a theory that was supported by the Communist International (Comintern) and affiliated communist parties in the early 1930s that held that social democracy was a variant of fascism because it stood in the way ...
. The League Against Gandhism, initially known as the Gandhi Boycott Committee, was a political organisation in
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
, founded by the underground Communist Party of India and others to launch militant anti-Imperialist activities. The group took the name ‘League Against Gandhism’ in 1934. In connection with the change of policy of the
Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...
toward Popular Front politics, the Indian communists changed their relation to the Indian National Congress. The communists joined the Congress Socialist Party, which worked as the left-wing of Congress. Through joining CSP, the CPI accepted the CSP demand for a Constituent Assembly, which it had denounced two years before. The CPI however analysed that the demand for a Constituent Assembly would not be a substitute for
soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in th ...
.Roy, Samaren. ''M.N. Roy: A Political Biography''.
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
: Orient Longman, 1998. p. 113, 115
In July 1937, clandestine meeting held at
Calicut Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...
. Five persons were present at the meeting,
P. Krishna Pillai P. Krishna Pillai (19 August 1906 at Vaikom, Kottayam District, Kottayam – 19 August 1948 at Muhamma, Alappuzha District, Alleppey) was a Communism, communist revolutionary from Kerala, India. He was one of the founding leaders of the Co ...
,
K. Damodaran K. Damodaran ( February 25, 1912 – July 3, 1976) was an Indian Marxist theoretician and writer and one of the leader of the Communist Party of India in Kerala, India. Early life and education Damodaran was born in Ponnani in Malappur ...
,
E.M.S. Namboodiripad Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad (13 June 1909 – 19 March 1998), popularly known as EMS, was an Indian communist politician and theorist, who served as the first Chief Minister of Kerala in 1957–1959 and then again in 1967–1969. A ...
, N. C. Sekhar and
S.V. Ghate Sachchidanand Vishnu Ghate (December 14, 1896 – November 28, 1970), also known as S.V. Ghate, was a freedom fighter and first General Secretary of the Communist Party of India.''SV Ghate: First General Secretary of CPI'', in ''New Age Weekly' ...
. The first four were members of the CSP in Kerala. The CPI in
Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
was formed on 31 December 1939 with the Pinarayi Conference. The latter, Ghate, was a CPI Central Committee member, who had arrived from Madras. Contacts between the CSP in Kerala and the CPI had begun in 1935, when P. Sundarayya (CC member of CPI, based in Madras at the time) met with EMS and Krishna Pillai. Sundarayya and Ghate visited Kerala at several times and met with the CSP leaders there. The contacts were facilitated through the national meetings of the Congress, CSP and
All India Kisan Sabha All India Kisan Sabha ( AIKS; lit. ''All India Farmers Union'', also known as the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha), is the peasant or farmers' wing of the Communist Party of India, an important peasant movement formed by Sahajanand Saraswati in 19 ...
. In 1936–1937, the co-operation between socialists and communists reached its peak. At the 2nd congress of the CSP, held in Meerut in January 1936, a thesis was adopted which declared that there was a need to build 'a united Indian Socialist Party based on Marxism-Leninism'. At the 3rd CSP congress, held in Faizpur, several communists were included into the CSP National Executive Committee. In Kerala communists won control over CSP, and for a brief period controlled Congress there. Two communists, E.M.S. Namboodiripad and
Z.A. Ahmed Z.A. Ahmed (29 October 1908 – 1999) was an Indian politician from Uttar Pradesh, belonging to the Communist Party of India. In the 1930s, acting on instructions from the CPI, he joined the Congress Socialist Party in which he served as All ...
, became All India joint secretaries of CSP. The CPI also had two other members inside the CSP executive. On the occasion of the 1940 Ramgarh Congress Conference CPI released a declaration called ''Proletarian Path'', which sought to utilise the weakened state of the British Empire in the time of war and gave a call for
general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...
, no-tax, no-rent policies and mobilising for an armed revolutionary uprising. The National Executive of the CSP assembled at Ramgarh took a decision that all communists were expelled from CSP. In July 1942, the CPI was legalised, as a result of Britain and the Soviet Union becoming allies against Nazi Germany. Communists strengthened their control over the All India Trade Union Congress. At the same time, communists were politically cornered for their opposition to the
Quit India Movement The Quit India Movement, also known as the August Kranti Movement, was a movement launched at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee by Mahatma Gandhi on 8th August 1942, during World War II, demanding an end to British rule in ...
. CPI contested the Provincial Legislative Assembly elections of 1946 of its own. It had candidates in 108 out of 1585 seats, winning in eight seats. In total the CPI vote counted 666 723, which should be seen with the backdrop that 86% of the adult population of India lacked voting rights. The party had contested three seats in Bengal, and won all of them. One CPI candidate,
Somnath Lahiri Somnath Lahiri (1 September 1909 – 19 October 1984) was an Indian statesman, writer and a leader of Communist Party of India. He was a member of Constituent Assembly of India from Bengal. He was later elected as a Member of West Bengal Legisla ...
, was elected to the Constituent Assembly. The Communist Party of India opposed the partition of India and did not participate in the
Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
celebrations of 15 August 1947 in protest of the division of the country.


After independence

During the period around and directly following Independence in 1947, the internal situation in the party was chaotic. The party shifted rapidly between left-wing and right-wing positions. In February 1948, at the 2nd Party Congress in Calcutta, B. T. Ranadive (BTR) was elected General Secretary of the party. The conference adopted the 'Programme of Democratic Revolution'. This programme included the first mention of struggle against
caste Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...
injustice in a CPI document. In several areas the party led armed struggles against a series of local monarchs that were reluctant to give up their power. Such insurgencies took place in
Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
,
Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...
and
Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
. The most important rebellion took place in Telangana, against the Nizam of
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
. The Communists built up a people's army and militia and controlled an area with a population of three million. The rebellion was brutally crushed and the party abandoned the policy of armed struggle. BTR was deposed and denounced as a 'left adventurist'. In
Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...
, the party became a force to reckon with through the agrarian struggles led by Jananeta Irawat Singh. Singh had joined CPI in 1946. At the 1951 congress of the party, 'People's Democracy' was substituted by 'National Democracy' as the main slogan of the party. Communist Party was founded in Bihar in 1939. Post independence, communist party achieved success in Bihar (Bihar and Jharkhand). Communist party conducted movements for land reform, trade union movement was at its peak in Bihar in the sixties, seventies and eighties. Achievement of communists in Bihar placed the communist party in the forefront of left movement in India. Bihar produced some of the legendary leaders like Kishan leaders Sahajanand Saraswati and
Karyanand Sharma Karyanand Sharma (1901–1965) was a nationalist and peasant leader who led movements against zamindars and the British. Biography Karyanand Sharma was born in a middle class Bhumihar Brahmin family of Sahoor village in Munger (British India) no ...
, intellectual giants like Jagannath Sarkar,
Yogendra Sharma Yogendra Sharma (20 August 1915 – 15 March 1990) was an Indian politician. He was a Member of Parliament, representing Bihar in the Rajya Sabha the upper house of India's Parliament. He also represented Begusarai Lok Sabha Constituency in ...
and Indradeep Sinha, mass leaders like Chandrasekhar Singh and
Sunil Mukherjee Sunil Mukherjee (November 16, 1914-March 30, 1992) was an Indian politician and leader of Communist Party of India. He was the founder secretary of Communist Party of India Bihar unit. Biography Early life He was born on November 16, 1914 in th ...
, Trade Union leaders like Kedar Das and others. In the Mithila region of Bihar Bhogendra Jha led the fight against the Mahants and Zamindars. He later went on the win Parliamentary elections and was MP for seven terms. In early 1950s young communist leadership was uniting textile workers, bank employees and unorganised sector workers to ensure mass support in north India. National leaders like S A Dange,
Chandra Rajeswara Rao Chandra Rajeshwara Rao (June 6, 1914 – April 9, 1994) was an Indian communist politician. He was one of the leaders of the Telangana Rebellion (1946–1951). He also worked as Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary for 28 years befo ...
and
P K Vasudevan Nair Padayatt Kesavapillai Vasudevan Nair (2 March 1926 – 12 July 2005), popularly known as PKV, was the 9th Chief Minister of Kerala and a senior leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI). He was elected to the Lok Sabha four times, in 1957, ...
were encouraging them and supporting the idea despite their differences on the execution. Firebrand Communist leaders like Homi F. Daji,
Guru Radha Kishan Guru Radha Kishan (1925-1996) was an Indian Independence activist and Communist politician. Early life Radha Kishan was born in 1925 in a family of farmers on Krishna Janmashtami in Bid village (currently in Harda district, Madhya Pradesh). ...
, H L Parwana, Sarjoo Pandey, Darshan Singh Canadian and Avtaar Singh Malhotra were emerging between the masses and the working class in particular. This was the first leadership of communists that was very close to the masses and people consider them champions of the cause of the workers and the poor. In 1952, CPI became the first leading opposition party in the Lok Sabha, while the Indian National Congress was in power. In the
1952 Travancore-Cochin Legislative Assembly election Elections to the Legislative Assembly of the Indian state of Travancore-Cochin were held on 27 March 1952. Constituencies Travancore-Cochin had 97 constituencies, 11 of them were two-member constituencies and 86 were single-member constituen ...
, Communist Party was banned, so it couldn't take part in the election process. In the general elections in 1957, the CPI emerged as the largest opposition party. In 1957, the CPI won the state elections in Kerala. This was the first time that an opposition party won control over an Indian state.
E. M. S. Namboodiripad Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad (13 June 1909 – 19 March 1998), popularly known as EMS, was an Indian communist politician and theorist, who served as the first Chief Minister of Kerala in 1957–1959 and then again in 1967–1969. A ...
became Chief Minister. At the 1957 international meeting of Communist parties in Moscow, the
Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
directed criticism at the CPI for having formed a ministry in Kerala. '' Liberation of Dadra-Nagar Haveli'': The Communist Party of India, along with its units in Bombay, Maharashtra and Gujarat, decided to start armed operations in the area in the July 1954. Both the areas were liberated by the beginning of August. Communist leaders like Narayan Palekar, Parulekar, Vaz, Rodriguez, Cunha and others emerged as the famous Communist leaders of this movement. Thereafter, the struggle to liberate Daman and Diu was begun by the Communist Party in Gujarat and other forces. '' Goa Satyagraha'': The countrywide Goa satyagraha of 1955-56 is among the unforgettable pages in the history of freedom struggle, in which the Communists played a major and memorable role. The CPI decided to send batches of satyahrahis since the middle of 1955 to the borders of Goa and even inside. Many were killed, many more others arrested and sent to jails inside Goa and inhumanly treated. Many others were even sent to jails in Portugal and were brutally tortured. The satyagraha was led and conducted by a joint committee known as Goa Vimochan Sahayak Samiti. S.A. Dange, Senapati Bapat, S.G. Sardesai, Nana Patil and several others were among the prominent leaders of the Samiti. Satyagraha began on 10 May 1955, and soon became a countrywide movement. Ideological differences led to the split in the party in 1964 when two different party conferences were held, one of CPI and one of the
Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in term ...
. During the period 1970–77, CPI was allied with the Congress party. In Kerala, they formed a government together with Congress as part of a coalition known as the
United Front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political a ...
, with the CPI-leader
C. Achutha Menon Chelat Achutha Menon (13 January 1913 – 16 August 1991) was the Chief Minister of Kerala state for two terms. The first term was from 1 November 1969 to 1 August 1970 and the second 4 October 1970 to 25 March 1977. He was instrumental in ...
as Chief Minister. This government continued governing throughout the emergency period and was responsible for the many acts of repression throughout the period carried out against political opponents in the guise of fighting naxals, manifesting most infamously in the
Rajan Case ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested fr ...
. The United Front government also used this opportunity to pursue class struggle by punishing those from the managerial classes, money lenders, bosses with anti-labour stances, ration shopkeepers and truckers engaged in black marketing, under stringent provisions of MISA and DIR. After the fall of the regime of
Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...
, CPI reoriented itself towards co-operation with CPI(M). In the 1980s, CPI opposed the Khalistan movement at Punjab. In 1986, CPI's leader in Punjab and MLA in the Punjabi legislature Darshan Singh Canadian was assassinated by Sikh extremists. Altogether about 200 communist leaders out of which most were Sikhs were killed by Sikh extremists in Punjab.


Present situation

CPI was recognised by the
Election Commission of India The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional body. It was established by the Constitution of India to conduct and regulate elections in the country. Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the power of superintendence, di ...
as a 'National Party'. To date, CPI happens to be the only national political party from India to have contested all the general elections using the same
electoral symbol An electoral symbol is a standardised symbol allocated to an independent candidate or political party by a country's election commission for use in election ballots. Usage Symbols are used by parties in their campaigning, and printed on ballot p ...
. Owing to a massive defeat in
2019 Indian general election General elections were held in India in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to elect the members of the 17th Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the result was declared on 23 May. Around 912 million people were eligible to vote, and voter ...
where the party saw its tally reduced to 2 MPs, the Election Commission of India has sent a letter to CPI asking for reasons why its national party status should not be revoked. If similar performance is repeated in the next election, the CPI will no longer be a national party. On the national level they supported the Indian National Congress-led
United Progressive Alliance United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a centre-left political alliance of predominantly left-leaning political parties in India. It was formed after the 2004 general election with support from left-leaning political parties when no single party ...
government along with other parliamentary Left parties, but without taking part in it. Upon attaining power in May 2004, the United Progressive Alliance formulated a programme of action known as the
Common Minimum Programme The Common Minimum Programme is a document outlining the minimum objectives of a coalition government in India. The document has acquired prominence since coalition governments have become the norm in India. The common minimum programme of Congres ...
. The Left bases its support to the UPA on strict adherence to it. Provisions of the CMP mentioned to discontinue
disinvestment Disinvestment refers to the use of a concerted economic boycott to pressure a government, industry, or company towards a change in policy, or in the case of governments, even regime change. The term was first used in the 1980s, most commonly in ...
, massive social sector outlays and an independent foreign policy. On 8 July 2008, the General Secretary of CPI(M), Prakash Karat, announced that the Left was withdrawing its support over the decision by the government to go ahead with the
United States-India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...
. The Left parties combination had been a staunch advocate of not proceeding with this deal citing national interests. In
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
it participates in the Left Front. It also participated in the state government in Manipur. In Kerala the party is part of
Left Democratic Front The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is an alliance of left-wing political parties in the state of Kerala, India. It is the current ruling political alliance of Kerala, since 2016. It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the oth ...
. In
Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
the party is a partner of the Left Front, which governed the state till 2018. In
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
it is part of the
Secular Progressive Alliance Secular Progressive Alliance, formerly known as Democratic Progressive Alliance, is an alliance of Indian political parties formed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). History The alliance was known as the ''Democratic Progressive Allian ...
and in Bihar it is the part of Mahagathbandhan. It is involved in the
Left Democratic Front in Maharashtra The Left Democratic Front is the name of a political alliance in Maharashtra, India. The core of LDF in Maharashtra is Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India and the Peasants and Workers Party of India The Peasants and ...
. In 2022 February CPI and Congress formed an alliance in Manipur named
Manipur Progressive Secular Alliance The Manipur Progressive Secular Alliance (MPSA) (formarly known as Secular Progressive Front (SPF) or Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA)) is a political alliance in India. The alliance includes six parties on a basis of an 18-point Common Age ...
. The current general secretary of CPI is
D. Raja Doraisamy Raja (born 3 June 1949) is an Indian politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) since July 2019. He was former member of Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu. He was the national secretary of the Communist Part ...
.


Presence in states

As of 2020, the CPI is a part of the state government in
Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
. Pinarayi Vijayan is Chief Minister of Kerala. CPI have 4 Cabinet Ministers in Kerala. In
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
it is in power with
SPA A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...
coalition led by
M. K. Stalin Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin ( , born 1 March 1953), often referred to by his initials MKS, is an Indian Tamil politician serving as the 8th and current Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The son of the former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Stalin ...
. The Left Front governed
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
for 34 years (1977–2011) and
Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
for 25 years (1993–2018)


State Governments


List of Members of Parliament


List of Rajya Sabha (Upper House) members


List of Lok Sabha (Lower House) members


Leadership

The following are the members of the Central Control Commission, National Council and Candidate Members to National Council, National Executive, National Secretariat and Party Programme Commission were elected at the 23rd Party Congress of Communist Party of India held from 25 to 29 April 2018 in Kollam, Kerala.


General Secretary

*
D. Raja Doraisamy Raja (born 3 June 1949) is an Indian politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) since July 2019. He was former member of Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu. He was the national secretary of the Communist Part ...


National Secretariat

#
S. Sudhakar Reddy Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy is the former General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) from 2012 to 2019. He was a member of the 12th Lok Sabha, 12th and 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Nalgonda (Lok Sabha Constituency), Nal ...
#
D. Raja Doraisamy Raja (born 3 June 1949) is an Indian politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) since July 2019. He was former member of Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu. He was the national secretary of the Communist Part ...
#
Atul Kumar Anjaan Atul Kumar Anjaan is a senior CPI leader and national secretary of the Communist Party of India. He is the General Secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha. He did his schooling from Lucknow in state board school and graduation, post graduation a ...
#
Amarjeet Kaur Amarjeet Kaur (Born on 2 April 1952) is an Indian politician and National Secretariat member of the Communist party of India. She is General Secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress. She is the first woman in Independent India to be at th ...
#
Ramendra Kumar Ramendra Kumar (Ramen) is an Indian author of children’s books with 35 books in English. They are also available in 15 Indian languages and 14 foreign languages. He has also written satire, poetry, travelogues, adult fiction, and non-ficti ...
#K. Narayana #
Kanam Rajendran Kanam Rajendran (born 10 November 1950) is an Indian politician and a member of the Communist Party of India."Kana ...
#
Binoy Viswam Binoy Viswam is a Rajya Sabha Member representing the Communist Party of India (CPI). He is the national secretary member of CPI. He was the Forest Minister in the Government of Kerala during 2006–2011. He was earlier elected to the Kerala L ...
#Bhalchandra Kango #Pallab Sen Gupta


National Executive

#
S. Sudhakar Reddy Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy is the former General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) from 2012 to 2019. He was a member of the 12th Lok Sabha, 12th and 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Nalgonda (Lok Sabha Constituency), Nal ...
#
D. Raja Doraisamy Raja (born 3 June 1949) is an Indian politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) since July 2019. He was former member of Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu. He was the national secretary of the Communist Part ...
#
Atul Kumar Anjaan Atul Kumar Anjaan is a senior CPI leader and national secretary of the Communist Party of India. He is the General Secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha. He did his schooling from Lucknow in state board school and graduation, post graduation a ...
#
Amarjeet Kaur Amarjeet Kaur (Born on 2 April 1952) is an Indian politician and National Secretariat member of the Communist party of India. She is General Secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress. She is the first woman in Independent India to be at th ...
#
Ramendra Kumar Ramendra Kumar (Ramen) is an Indian author of children’s books with 35 books in English. They are also available in 15 Indian languages and 14 foreign languages. He has also written satire, poetry, travelogues, adult fiction, and non-ficti ...
#K. Narayana #
Kanam Rajendran Kanam Rajendran (born 10 November 1950) is an Indian politician and a member of the Communist Party of India."Kana ...
#
Binoy Viswam Binoy Viswam is a Rajya Sabha Member representing the Communist Party of India (CPI). He is the national secretary member of CPI. He was the Forest Minister in the Government of Kerala during 2006–2011. He was earlier elected to the Kerala L ...
#Bhalchandra Kango #Pallab Sengupta #
Nagendra Nath Ojha Nagendra Nath Ojha is an Indian politician. He was a Member of Parliament, representing Bihar in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's Parliament as a member of the Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the ...
#Girish Sharma #
Annie Raja Annie Raja is an Indian politician and leader of Communist Party of India . She is the General Secretary of National Federation of Indian Women The National Federation of Indian Women is a women's organisation in India, the women's wing o ...
# Azeez Pasha #
K. Ramakrishna K. Ramakrishna (born 16 January 1957) is an Indian politician and leader of Communist Party of India (CPI). He was elected as a member of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly or Andhra Pradesh Śāsa ...
# Satya Narayan Singh #Janaki Paswan #
Ram Naresh Pandey Ram Naresh Pandey is an Indian politician and former member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly. He was the representative from the Harlakhi constituency from 2005–2010 as a member of the Communist Party of India. He is the state secretary of C ...
#
Bhubneshwar Prasad Mehta Bhubneshwar Prasad Mehta (born 2 August 1940) is an Indian politician, affiliated to the Communist Party of India. He represented the Hazaribagh constituency of Jharkhand in the 14th Lok Sabha. Biography Mehta was born in August 2, 1940 in a p ...
#
K.E. Ismail K. E. Ismail is a leftist politician from Kerala, India ( Communist Party of India). He was a Member of the Parliament of India Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian Parliament representing Kerala, India. He was Revenue minister in Kerala Sta ...
#
Moirangthem Nara Dr. Moirangthem Nara Singh (born Tentha, is an Indian politician from state Manipur. He was former Cabinet Minister for Arts and Culture and Sericulture in Manipur during 2002 to 2004. Early life Nara was born on 27 May 1949 in Tentha Villa ...
#Dibakar Naik # R. Mutharasan #C. Mahendran # Chada Venkat Reddy #
K. Subbarayan K. Subbarayan (born 10 August 1947) is a member of the 17th Lok Sabha of India. He represents the Tiruppur Lok Sabha constituency of Tamil Nadu and is a member of the Communist Party of India (CPI) political party. He represented the Coimbatore ...
#Swapan Banerjee #Bant Singh Brar #
Munin Mahanta Munin Mahanta is an Indian communist politician. He represented Marigaon constituency in the Assam Legislative Assembly from 1991 to 2001. He is the Secretary of Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marx ...
#C.H. Venkatachalam Ex-Officio Members #
Pannian Ravindran Pannyan Raveendran (born 22 December 1945) is an Indian politician and was the state secretary of Kerala State Committee of Communist Party of India (CPI) from 2012 to 2015. He was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India India, officia ...
(Chairperson, Central Control Commission) Invitees #Rama Krushna Panda #
Manish Kunjam Manish Kunjam is an Indian communist politician from Chhattisgarh and leader of the Communist Party of India. He represented Konta Konta is a Municipal Council and tehsil headquarters in Sukma district, Chhattisgarh, India. Konta is a model ...


National Council Members

Members from Centre: *
S. Sudhakar Reddy Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy is the former General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) from 2012 to 2019. He was a member of the 12th Lok Sabha, 12th and 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Nalgonda (Lok Sabha Constituency), Nal ...
*
D. Raja Doraisamy Raja (born 3 June 1949) is an Indian politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) since July 2019. He was former member of Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu. He was the national secretary of the Communist Part ...
*
Atul Kumar Anjaan Atul Kumar Anjaan is a senior CPI leader and national secretary of the Communist Party of India. He is the General Secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha. He did his schooling from Lucknow in state board school and graduation, post graduation a ...
*
Ramendra Kumar Ramendra Kumar (Ramen) is an Indian author of children’s books with 35 books in English. They are also available in 15 Indian languages and 14 foreign languages. He has also written satire, poetry, travelogues, adult fiction, and non-ficti ...
*
Amarjeet Kaur Amarjeet Kaur (Born on 2 April 1952) is an Indian politician and National Secretariat member of the Communist party of India. She is General Secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress. She is the first woman in Independent India to be at th ...
*K. Narayana *
Nagendra Nath Ojha Nagendra Nath Ojha is an Indian politician. He was a Member of Parliament, representing Bihar in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's Parliament as a member of the Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the ...
*Bhalchandra Kango *
Binoy Viswam Binoy Viswam is a Rajya Sabha Member representing the Communist Party of India (CPI). He is the national secretary member of CPI. He was the Forest Minister in the Government of Kerala during 2006–2011. He was earlier elected to the Kerala L ...
*Pallab Sengutpa * Azeez Pasha *
Annie Raja Annie Raja is an Indian politician and leader of Communist Party of India . She is the General Secretary of National Federation of Indian Women The National Federation of Indian Women is a women's organisation in India, the women's wing o ...
- Women Front *CH Venkatachalam - Bank Front *B.V. Vijaylakshmi - TU Front *S. V. Damle - TU Front *Vidyasagar Giri - TU Front *R.S. Yadav - Mukti Sangharsh *Manish Kunjam - Tribal Front *C. Srikumar - Defence *Gargi Chakravarthy - Women Front *Anil Rajimwale - Education Department *Viswajeet Kumar - Student Front *R. Thirumalai - Youth Front *A.A. Khan - Minority Front ''Andhra Pradesh'' *K. Ramakrishna *M.N. Rao *J.V.S.N. Murthy *Jalli Wilson *Akkineni Vanaja '' Assam'' *
Munin Mahanta Munin Mahanta is an Indian communist politician. He represented Marigaon constituency in the Assam Legislative Assembly from 1991 to 2001. He is the Secretary of Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marx ...
*Kanak Gogoi ''Bihar'' *
Ram Naresh Pandey Ram Naresh Pandey is an Indian politician and former member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly. He was the representative from the Harlakhi constituency from 2005–2010 as a member of the Communist Party of India. He is the state secretary of C ...
*Janki Paswan *Jabbar Alam *Rajendra Prasad Singh *Rageshri Kiran *Om Prakash Narayan *Pramod Prabhakar *Ram Chandra Singh *Nivedita ''Chhattisgarh'' *R.D.C.P. Rao *Rama Sori ''Delhi'' *Dhirendra K. Sharma *Prof. Dinesh Varshney ''Goa'' *Christopher Fonseca ''Gujarat'' *Raj Kumar Singh *Vijay Shenmare ''Haryana'' *Dariyao Singh Kashyap ''Himachal Pradesh'' *Shayam Singh Chauhan ''Jharkhand'' * Bhubaneshwar Prasad Mehta *K.D. Singh *Rajendra Prasad Yadav *Mahendra Pathak ''Jammu and Kashmir'' Vacant ''Karnataka'' *P.V. Lokesh *Saathi Sundaresh ''Kerala'' *
Kanam Rajendran Kanam Rajendran (born 10 November 1950) is an Indian politician and a member of the Communist Party of India."Kana ...
*
K.E. Ismail K. E. Ismail is a leftist politician from Kerala, India ( Communist Party of India). He was a Member of the Parliament of India Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian Parliament representing Kerala, India. He was Revenue minister in Kerala Sta ...
* K. Prekash Babu *
E. Chandrasekharan Edayillam Chandrasekharan ( ml, ഇ. ചന്ദ്രശേഖരന്‍; born 26 December 1948) is an Indian politician from Kasaragod, and is the former Revenue Minister of Kerala in the Pinarayi Vijayan Ministry. He is the son of P. ...
*Adv. P. Vasantham *T.V. Balan * C.N. Jayadevan * K.P. Rajendran * J. Chinchu Rani *
N. Anirudhan N. Anirudhan (born 20 September 1943) is an Indian politician and leader of Communist Party of India. He represented the Chathannoor constituency in the 10th and 12th Kerala Legislative Assembly. Also he is the member of CPI National council. Ref ...
*
N. Rajan N. Rajan (born 27 November 1956) is an Indian politician and a leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI). He was a member of the 8th KLA 10th KLA and 11th KLA representing the Kilimanoor Kilimanoor is a panchayat and a town in the Chiray ...
''Manipur'' *
Moirangthem Nara Dr. Moirangthem Nara Singh (born Tentha, is an Indian politician from state Manipur. He was former Cabinet Minister for Arts and Culture and Sericulture in Manipur during 2002 to 2004. Early life Nara was born on 27 May 1949 in Tentha Villa ...
*L. Sotin Kumar ''Meghalaya'' *Samudra Gupta ''Maharashtra'' *Tukaram Bhasme *Namdev Gavade *Ram Baheti *Prakash Reddy ''Madhya Pradesh'' *Arvind Shrivastava *Haridwar Singh ''Odisha'' *Dibakar Nayak *Ashish Kanungo *
Abhaya Sahu Abhaya may refer to: People with the name Historical * Abhaya of Upatissa Nuwara, king of Upathissa Nuwara from 474 to 454 BCE * Abhaya Malla (died 1255), Malla Dynasty king of Nepal * Abhaya Naga of Anuradhapura (reigned 237–245 CE) * Amanda ...
*Ramakrushna Panda *
Souribandhu Kar Souribandhu Kar ( 13 April 2020) was an Indian trade unionist, writer, columnist and the former Canara Bank employee. He served as a general secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress for Odisha Unit and was actively engaged in left-wing ...
''Puducherry'' *A. M. Saleem *A. Ramamoorthy ''Punjab'' *Bant Singh Brar *Jagrup Singh *Hardev Singh Arshi *Nirmal Singh Dhaliwal *Jagjit Singh Joga ''Rajasthan'' *Narendra Acharya *Tara Singh Sidhu ''Tamil Nadu'' * R. Nallakkannu * R. Mutharasan *C. Mahendran *
K. Subbarayan K. Subbarayan (born 10 August 1947) is a member of the 17th Lok Sabha of India. He represents the Tiruppur Lok Sabha constituency of Tamil Nadu and is a member of the Communist Party of India (CPI) political party. He represented the Coimbatore ...
*M. Veerapandian *T.M. Murthi *G. Palaniswamy *P. Padmavathi *P. Sethuraman ''Telangana'' * Chada Venkat Reddy *Palla Venkat Reddy *K. Sambasiva Rao *Pasya Padma *K. Srinivas Reddy *K. Shanker *T. Srinivas Rao ''Tripura'' *Ranjit Majumdar ''Uttar Pradesh'' *Girish Sharma *Arvind Raj Swarup *Imtiyaz Ahmed *Prof. Nisha Rathor *Ram Chand Saras *Shyam Mohan Singh ''Uttarakhand'' *Samar Bhandari ''West Bengal'' *Swapan Banerjee *Manju Kumar Mazumdar *
Santosh Rana Santosh Rana (1942 – 29 June 2019) was an Indian politician. In the 1960s, he was a prominent figure in the armed struggle of the Naxalites led by Charu Majumdar. Rana received Ananda Puraskar for his book ''Rajnitir Ek Jibon'' in 2018. A ...
*Shyama Sree Das *Ujjawal Chaudhury *Chittaranjan Das Thakur *Prabir Deb *Tarun Das Candidate Members *Prof. Arun Kumar *N. Chidambaram *Arun Mitra *M. Bal Narsima *Mithlesh Jha *Suhaas Naik *Mahesh Kakkath *Kh. Surchand Singh *Richard B. Thabah *G. Obulesu *Vicky Mahesari *Shuvam Banerjee Invitee Members *Bhupender Sambar *Periyaswamy *Gulzar Singh Goria *Aruna Sinha *Asomi Gogoi *Kannagi *Usha Sahani *Indra Mani Devi *Durga Bhavani * R. C. Singh *Amiya Kumar Mohanty


Central Control Commission

#
Pannian Ravindran Pannyan Raveendran (born 22 December 1945) is an Indian politician and was the state secretary of Kerala State Committee of Communist Party of India (CPI) from 2012 to 2015. He was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India India, officia ...
(Chairman) #
C. A. Kurian C. A. Kurian (20 January 1933 – 20 March 2021) was an Indian trade union leader, legislator, and leader of the Communist Party of India. He was the Chair of Deputy Speaker in the 10th Kerala Legislative Assembly. He was first elected to the ...
#Dr Joginder Dayal (Punjab) #C.R. Bakshi (Chhattisgarh) #P.J.C. Rao (Andhra Pradesh) #Bijoy Narayan Mishra (Bihar) #Moti Lal (Uttar Pradesh) #M. Sakhi Devi (Tripura) #T. Narsimhan (Telangana) #
M. Arumugham M. Arumugham is an Indian politician and was a member of the 14th Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly from the Valparai constituency, which is reserved for candidates from the Scheduled Castes. He represented the Communist Party of India ...
(Tamil Nadu) #Apurba Mandal (West Bengal


Party Programme Commission

#Pallab Sen Gupta # K. Prekash Babu #C.R. Bakshi #
Moirangthem Nara Dr. Moirangthem Nara Singh (born Tentha, is an Indian politician from state Manipur. He was former Cabinet Minister for Arts and Culture and Sericulture in Manipur during 2002 to 2004. Early life Nara was born on 27 May 1949 in Tentha Villa ...
#Anil Rajimwale


State Council Secretaries

''Sources'' *Andhra Pradesh :
K. Ramakrishna K. Ramakrishna (born 16 January 1957) is an Indian politician and leader of Communist Party of India (CPI). He was elected as a member of Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly or Andhra Pradesh Śāsa ...
*Assam :
Munin Mahanta Munin Mahanta is an Indian communist politician. He represented Marigaon constituency in the Assam Legislative Assembly from 1991 to 2001. He is the Secretary of Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marx ...
*Bihar :
Ram Naresh Pandey Ram Naresh Pandey is an Indian politician and former member of the Bihar Legislative Assembly. He was the representative from the Harlakhi constituency from 2005–2010 as a member of the Communist Party of India. He is the state secretary of C ...
*Chhattisgarh : RDCP Rao *Delhi :Prof.Dinesh Varshney *Goa : RD Mangueshkar *Gujarat : Vijay Shenmare *Haryana : Dariyao Singh Kashyap *Himachal Pradesh : Bhag Singh *Jammu & Kashmir : G. M. Mizrab *Jharkhand :
Bhubneshwar Prasad Mehta Bhubneshwar Prasad Mehta (born 2 August 1940) is an Indian politician, affiliated to the Communist Party of India. He represented the Hazaribagh constituency of Jharkhand in the 14th Lok Sabha. Biography Mehta was born in August 2, 1940 in a p ...
*Kerala :
Kanam Rajendran Kanam Rajendran (born 10 November 1950) is an Indian politician and a member of the Communist Party of India."Kana ...
*Karnataka : Saathi Sundaresh *Maharashtra : Prakash Reddy *Madhya Pradesh : Arvind Shrivastava *Manipur : L. Thoiren Singh *Meghalaya : Samudra Gupta *Nagaland : M M Thromwa Konyak *Odisha :
Abhaya Sahu Abhaya may refer to: People with the name Historical * Abhaya of Upatissa Nuwara, king of Upathissa Nuwara from 474 to 454 BCE * Abhaya Malla (died 1255), Malla Dynasty king of Nepal * Abhaya Naga of Anuradhapura (reigned 237–245 CE) * Amanda ...
*Puducherry : A. M. Saleem *Punjab : Bant Singh Brar *Rajasthan : Narendra Acharya *Tamil Nadu : R. Mutharasan *Telangana : Kunamneni Sambasiva Rao *Uttar Pradesh : Girish Sharma *Uttarakhand : Jagdish Kuliyal *West Bengal : Swapan Banerjee


List of General secretaries and Chairmen of CPI

Article XXXII of the party constitution says:
"The tenure of the General Secretary and Deputy General Secretary, if any, and State Secretaries is limited to two consecutive terms—a term being of not less than two years. In exceptional cases, the unit concerned may decide by three-fourth majority through secret ballot to allow two more terms. In case such a motion is adopted that comrade also can contest in the election along with other candidates. As regards the tenure of the office-bearers at district and lower levels, the state councils will frame rules where necessary."


Party Congress


Principal mass organisations

*
All India Trade Union Congress The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) is the oldest trade union federation in India. It is associated with the Communist Party of India. According to provisional statistics from the Ministry of Labour, AITUC had a membership of 14.2 milli ...
(AITUC) * All India Students’ Federation (AISF) *
All India Youth Federation The All India Youth Federation (AIYF) is a nationwide youth organisation of Communist Party of India founded on May 3, 1959. AIYF is affiliated to World Federation of Democratic Youth. And member of general council of WFDY. Formation It was be ...
(AIYF) * National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) *
All India Kisan Sabha All India Kisan Sabha ( AIKS; lit. ''All India Farmers Union'', also known as the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha), is the peasant or farmers' wing of the Communist Party of India, an important peasant movement formed by Sahajanand Saraswati in 19 ...
- AIKS (peasants organisation) *
Bharatiya Khet Mazdoor Union Bharatiya Khet Mazdoor Union literally 'Indian Land Workers Union' is a trade union of agricultural labourers in India. BKMU is politically tied to the Communist Party of India (CPI). BKMU is independent from both the main trade union central o ...
- BKMU (agricultural workers) *
Indian People's Theatre Association Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) is the oldest association of theatre-artists in India. IPTA was formed in 1943 during the British rule in India, and promoted themes related to the Indian freedom struggle. Its goal was to bring cultur ...
- IPTA (cultural wing) *
All India State Government Employees Confederation All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...
(State government employees) *
Indian Society for Cultural Co-operation and Friendship The Indian Society for Cultural Co-operation and Friendship (ISCUF) is an organization in India promoting people-to-people cultural understanding and friendship. The organization was initially known as the Friends of the Soviet Union and, later, t ...
(ISCUF) *
All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation The All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation is an organization in India promoting peace, solidarity and friendship between peoples. AIPSO was founded in 1951 and is a member of the World Peace Council. As of 2019, Pallab Sengupta is the general ...
(AIPSO) *
Progressive Writers' Association The Progressive Writers' Association or the Progressive Writers' Movement of India or ''Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind'' (( ur, ) or ''Akhil Bhartiya Pragatishil Lekhak Sangh'' (Hindi: अखिल भारतीय प्रगति ...
(PWA) *
All India Adivasi Mahasabha All India Adivasi Mahasabha is the tribal wing of the Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was ...
(Tribal Wing) *
All India Dalit Rights Movement All India Dalit Rights Movement is the dalit wing of the Communist Party of India. It was formed in an all India conference held from 18,19 December 2021. Office bearers *General Secretary - V. S. Nirmalkumar *President - A. Ramamoorthy *Vice Pr ...
(AIDRM) *
Tamil Nadu Oppressed People's Movement Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925. His ...
*
People's Service Corps The People's Service Corps or Jana Seva Dal is an Indian left-wing, nonprofit, political, beneficiary and voluntary organisation, founded by Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communi ...
*
Ganamukti Parishad Ganamukti Parishad (Bengali language, Bengali for 'Tripura State Indigenous People's Liberation Council') is a left-wing politics, left-wing movement working amongst the Tripuri people, Tripuri peoples of Tripura, in north-eastern India. It is af ...
In
Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...
, the
Ganamukti Parishad Ganamukti Parishad (Bengali language, Bengali for 'Tripura State Indigenous People's Liberation Council') is a left-wing politics, left-wing movement working amongst the Tripuri people, Tripuri peoples of Tripura, in north-eastern India. It is af ...
is a major mass organisation amongst the Tripuri peoples of the state.


Former chief ministers


Notable leaders

*
Abdul Sattar Ranjoor Abdul Sattar Ranjoor (12 October 1917 – 23 March 1990) was a Kashmiri politician, and renowned revolutionary poet and writer. He was a veteran leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI). Ranjoor was the founding state secretary of the party i ...
– Founding state secretary of the CPI in
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...
*
Ajoy Ghosh Ajoy Kumar Ghosh ( bn, অজয়কুমার ঘোষ) (20 February 1909–13 January 1962) was an Indian freedom fighter and prominent leader of the Communist Party of India. He was the general secretary of the Communist Party of ...
– Former general secretary of CPI, freedom fighter *
Amarjeet Kaur Amarjeet Kaur (Born on 2 April 1952) is an Indian politician and National Secretariat member of the Communist party of India. She is General Secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress. She is the first woman in Independent India to be at th ...
- General Secretary of AITUC and National Secretary of CPI * Annabhau Sathe - Samyukta Maharashtra movement leader *
Annie Raja Annie Raja is an Indian politician and leader of Communist Party of India . She is the General Secretary of National Federation of Indian Women The National Federation of Indian Women is a women's organisation in India, the women's wing o ...
- General Secretary of NFIW and National Executive Member of CPI *
Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan (24 September 1924 – 2 January 2016) was a trade union leader and the former general secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), one of the oldest political parties in India. Early life Bardhan was born in Baris ...
– Former general secretary *
Aruna Asaf Ali Aruna Asaf Ali (''née'' Ganguly; 16 July 1909 – 29 July 1996) was an Indian educator, political activist, and publisher. An active participant in the Indian independence movement, she is widely remembered for hoisting the Indian National fl ...
– Freedom fighter *
Binoy Viswam Binoy Viswam is a Rajya Sabha Member representing the Communist Party of India (CPI). He is the national secretary member of CPI. He was the Forest Minister in the Government of Kerala during 2006–2011. He was earlier elected to the Kerala L ...
– Member of Rajya Sabha, Former minister in the Government of Kerala *
Bhargavi Thankappan Bhargavi Thankappan (born 1942) is an Indian politician of the Communist Party of India. She was the deputy speaker of the 8th Kerala Legislative Assembly. Early life Bhargavi was born on 24 July 1942 in Adoor to K. Easwaran and his wife K. Kutt ...
- Parliamentarian *
Bhupesh Gupta Bhupesh Gupta ( bn, ভূপেশ গুপ্ত) (20 October 1914 – 6 August 1981) was an Indian politician and a leader of the Communist Party of India., He was one of the senior communist leaders and parliamentarian in Rajya Sabha. ...
– Parliamentarian *
C. Achutha Menon Chelat Achutha Menon (13 January 1913 – 16 August 1991) was the Chief Minister of Kerala state for two terms. The first term was from 1 November 1969 to 1 August 1970 and the second 4 October 1970 to 25 March 1977. He was instrumental in ...
– Finance minister in first Kerala ministry Former chief minister of Kerala *
C. Divakaran C. Divakaran (born 4 September 1942) is an Indian politician, from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He is a State Executive Member of Communist Party of India (CPI), and National Working Committee Member of All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC). A ...
- Senior leader, former minister and National Council Member from Kerala *
Chandra Rajeswara Rao Chandra Rajeshwara Rao (June 6, 1914 – April 9, 1994) was an Indian communist politician. He was one of the leaders of the Telangana Rebellion (1946–1951). He also worked as Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary for 28 years befo ...
– former general secretary, Telangana freedom fighter * Chaturanan Mishra parliamentarian & former Central Minister of India *
Chittayam Gopakumar Chittayam Gopakumar (born 30 May 1965) is an Indian politician who belongs to the Communist Party of India. He got elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly for the first time in 2011 as a candidate from Adoor constituency in Pathanamthitta D ...
- Deputy Speaker of
Kerala Legislative Assembly The Kerala Legislative Assembly, popularly known as the Kerala Niyamasabha, is the State Assembly of Kerala, one of the 28 states in India. The Assembly is formed by 140 elected representatives. Each elected member represents one of the 140 c ...
and State council member *
C. K. Chandrappan C. K. Chandrappan (10 November 1935 – 22 March 2012) was a politician from Kerala, India. He was the Kerala state secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the president of All India Kisan Sabha at the time of his death. He was a m ...
– Parliamentarian & former Kerala state secretary of the party *
C. N. Jayadevan C. N. Jayadevan is an Indian politician of the Communist Party of India (CPI) from Thrissur in Kerala. He is a former Member of parliament who represented Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency Thrissur is one of the 20 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) co ...
- Senior leader, parliamentarian *
Dhanwantri Comrade Dhanwantri (7 March 1902 – 13 July 1953) was a freedom fighter and one of the founder of Communist Party of India in Jammu and Kashmir. During the British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or emp ...
- one of the founder of communist party in Jammu & Kashmir * Darshan Singh Canadian - Trade Unionist, fight against Khalistan movement *
D. Pandian David Pandian (18 May 1932 – 26 February 2021) was an Indian Tamil politician who served as Member of Parliament elected from Tamil Nadu. He was elected to the Lok Sabha as an Indian National CongressUnited Communist Party of India (UCPI) c ...
- Parliamentarian & former Tamil Nadu state secretary *
D. Raja Doraisamy Raja (born 3 June 1949) is an Indian politician and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) since July 2019. He was former member of Rajya Sabha from Tamil Nadu. He was the national secretary of the Communist Part ...
– parliamentarian & General secretary of the party * E. Chandrasekharan Nair – Senior leader and former Minister in the Government of Kerala *
Geeta Mukherjee Geeta Mukherjee (8 January 1924 – 4 March 2000) was an Indian politician and social worker and a four times MLA from Panskura Purba, from 1967 to 1977. As a Member of Parliament, she was elected seven times from the Panskura constituency, ...
- Parliamentarian & Former Vice President of National Federation of Indian Women *
Govind Pansare Govind Pansare (26 November 1933 – 20 February 2015) was a left-wing Indian politician of the Communist Party of India (CPI). He was also the author of the best selling Marathi language biography of 17th century ruler Shivaji, ''Shivaji Kon Ho ...
– Prominent activist and lawyer * Gurudas Dasgupta - Parliamentarian & Former General Secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) and Bharatiya Khet Mazdoor Union *
Hajrah Begum Hajrah Begum (1910-2003) was an Indian politician, a leader of the Communist Party of India and the former General Secretary National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) from 1954 to 1962 . Hajra Begum was born into a wealthy family in 1910. She ...
- former general secretary of NFIW *
Hasrat Mohani Syed Fazl-ul-Hasan (1 January 1875 – 13 May 1951), known by his pen-name Hasrat Mohani, was an Indian activist, freedom fighter in the Indian independence movement and a noted poet of the Urdu language. He coined the notable slogan ''Inquil ...
– founding member *
Hijam Irabot Hijam Irabot (30 September 1896 – 26 September 1951), also known as Jana Neta Hijam Irabot, was a politician and leader of Communist party of India and revolutionary social activist from Manipur. He fought against the social evils of the soc ...
– Founder leader of CPI in Manipur *
Hirendranath Mukherjee Hirendranath Mukhopadhyay (23 November 1907 – 30 July 2004), also known as Hiren Mukerjee, was an Indian politician, lawyer and academic. He was a member of the Communist Party of India having joined in 1936 when it was still illegal. He was ...
-Parliamentarian & He was awarded Padma Bhushan in 1990 and Padma Vibhushan in 1991 by the President of India for his lifelong services *
Ila Mitra Ila Mitra (; 18 October 1925 – 13 October 2002) was a communist and peasants movement organizer of the Indian subcontinent, especially in East Bengal (now Bangladesh). Early life and education Mitra's ancestors were from Bagutia village i ...
– Peasant Movement Leader from West Bengal *
Indrajit Gupta Indrajit Gupta (18 March 1919 – 20 February 2001) was an Indian politician who belonged to the Communist Party of India (CPI). From 1996 to 1998, he served as Union Home Minister in the United Front governments of prime ministers H. D. Deve Go ...
– Parliamentarian, former general secretary and a former central minister * Jagannath Sarkar – former National Secretary, freedom fighter, builder of communist movement in Bihar and Jharkhand *
Junu Das Jitendra Lal Das ''popularly known as'' Junu Das was an Indian politician and a leader of the Communist Party of India. He was a member of the Tripura Legislative Assembly, representing the Belonia (Vidhan Sabha constituency), Belonia constituenc ...
– Prominent leader of CPI * Kalpana Datta – freedom fighter *
Kanam Rajendran Kanam Rajendran (born 10 November 1950) is an Indian politician and a member of the Communist Party of India."Kana ...
– Current Kerala state secretary of the party * K.N. Joglekar – founding member of CPI *
Meghraj Tawar Meghraj Tawar (died on August 27, 2017) is an Indian politician. He is a leader of the Communist Party of India. He represented Gogunda constituency in Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from 1980 to 1985. He is a prominent profile of the party amon ...
– Former Rajasthan MLA and leader of the CPI *
M. Kalyanasundaram Meenakshisundaram Kalyanasundaram (20 October 1909 – 27 July 1988) was an Indian politician and former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu. He was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly as a Communist Party of India cand ...
– Parliamentarian * M. N. Govindan Nair – Kerala state secretary during the first communist ministry and a freedom fighter *
Mohit Banerji Mohit Banerji (Mohit Bandopadhay) (1912–1961) was a pioneer of the Communist Party of India in West Bengal, India and translated several Communist movement songs of Europe into Bengali. These include "Soviet Land" and "The Internationale" (b ...
- Prominent Leader *
Nallakannu R. Nallakannu (born 26 December 1925) is an Indian politician. He is a senior leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI). He was the former State Secretary of the Communist Party of India of Tamil Nadu. Early life Nallakannu was born in the ...
– former Tamil Nadu state secretary of the party *
N.E. Balaram N.E. Balaram (Njalile Veettil Edavalathu Balaraman) (20 November 1919 – 16 July 1994) was one of the founding leaders of the communist movement in Kerala, India. A Marxist ideologue, scholar in Indian Philosophy and a well known literary cri ...
- Founding leader of the
communist movement The history of communism encompasses a wide variety of ideologies and political movements sharing the core theoretical values of common ownership of wealth, economic enterprise, and property. Most modern forms of communism are grounded at least ...
in Kerala, India *
Pannyan Raveendran Pannyan Raveendran (born 22 December 1945) is an Indian politician and was the state secretary of Kerala State Committee of Communist Party of India (CPI) from 2012 to 2015. He was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India India, officia ...
– Former Kerala state secretary of the party *
Parvathi Krishnan Parvathi Krishnan (15 March 1919 – 20 February 2014) was an Indian politician from the Communist Party of India. She was a three time former Member of Parliament representing Coimbatore Lok Sabha constituency and Rajya Sabha member. She was t ...
- Parliamentarian *
P. Krishna Pillai P. Krishna Pillai (19 August 1906 at Vaikom, Kottayam District, Kottayam – 19 August 1948 at Muhamma, Alappuzha District, Alleppey) was a Communism, communist revolutionary from Kerala, India. He was one of the founding leaders of the Co ...
- Founder and First secretary of CPI in Kerala *
P. K. Vasudevan Nair Padayatt Kesavapillai Vasudevan Nair (2 March 1926 – 12 July 2005), popularly known as PKV, was the 9th Chief Minister of Kerala and a senior leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI). He was elected to the Lok Sabha four times, in 1957, ...
– Former Chief minister of Kerala, Former AISF general secretary, Former AIYF general secretary *
Puran Chand Joshi Puran Chand Joshi (14 April 1907 – 9 November 1980), one of the early leaders of the communist movement in India. He was the general secretary of the Communist Party of India from 1935 to 1947. Early years Joshi was born on 14 April 1907, i ...
– first general secretary of the Communist Party of India *
P. S. Sreenivasan P. S. Sreenivasan (September 1923 – 8 July 1997) was a leader of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and a former minister of Kerala state, He is known as the Father of Tourism in Modern Kerala. He was born at Ullala in September 1923 as son of ...
– Former Minister of Kerala *
Rajaji Mathew Thomas Rajaji Mathew Thomas is a journalist and a Communist Party of India politician from Thrissur and was the MLA of Ollur from 2006 to 2011. Rajaji Mathew Thomas was the leader of All India Youth Federation and selected as national general secretar ...
- Journalist, former MLA and CPI National council Member, from Kerala *
Ramendra Kumar Ramendra Kumar (Ramen) is an Indian author of children’s books with 35 books in English. They are also available in 15 Indian languages and 14 foreign languages. He has also written satire, poetry, travelogues, adult fiction, and non-ficti ...
– Former Parliamentarian, national executive member, national president AITUC *
Rosamma Punnoose Rosamma Punnoose (12 May 1913 – 28 December 2013) was an Indian independence activist, politician and lawyer. She was the first person to be sworn in as a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly. She was also the first MLA in India to lose ...
- Freedom Fighter *
R.Sugathan R. Sugathan, (23 December 1901 – 14 February 1970), popularly known as Sugathansir, was an Indian Communist leader and an early trade unionist of Kerala. He was elected to the Travancore-Cochin Assembly in 1952 (Alleppey) & 1954 from Mar ...
- Prominent trade unionist, mass leader and member of Kerala Legislative assembly * Sachchidanand Vishnu Ghate - First general secretary of CPI, freedom fighter *
Satypal Dang Satyapal Dang (1920–2013) was an Indian independence activist, writer and later-day politician from Punjab. He was a legislator of Punjab State Legislative Assembly, representing the Communist Party of India for four terms and a Minister of Fo ...
- He was a legislator of Punjab State Legislative Assembly, representing the Communist Party of India for four terms and a Minister of Food and Civil Supplies in the United Front ministry led by Justice Gurnam Singh and Padma Bhushan Awardee. *
S.S. Mirajkar Shantaram Savlaram Mirajkar (8 February, 1899– 15 February 1980) was an Indian communist politician and trade unionist. He was part of the old guard of the Communist Party of India, led the All India Trade Union Congress as its president for ...
– Trade Unionist, Freedom fighter *
Suhasini Chattopadhyay Suhasini Chattopadhyay (also known as Suhasini Nambiar; 1902–26 November 1973) was an Indian communist leader and a freedom fighter. She was the first woman member of the Communist Party of India. Biography Suhasini was one of eight childr ...
- founding member of CPI *
Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy is the former General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI) from 2012 to 2019. He was a member of the 12th and 14th Lok Sabha of India. He represented the Nalgonda constituency of Telangana. He was elected t ...
– former general secretary of the party & parliamentarian *
Shripad Amrit Dange Shripad Amrut Dange (10 October 1899 – 22 May 1991) was an Indian Politician who was a founding member of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and a stalwart of Indian trade union movement. During the 20th century, Dange was arrested by the a ...
– Freedom fighter & former chairman of the party *
Thoppil Bhasi Thoppil Bhaskara Pillai, known as Thoppil Bhasi (8 April 1924 – 8 December 1992) was an Indian Malayalam-language playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He was associated with the communist movement in Kerala and his play '' Ningalenne ...
– Writer, film director & parliamentarian *
T. V. Thomas T. V. Thomas (2 July 1910 – 26 March 1977) was an Indian communism, communist leader from Alappuzha, Alleppey, Kerala. He was the Minister for Labour and Transport in the First E. M. S. Namboodiripad ministry (5 April 1957 to 31 July 1959), ...
– Minister in first Kerala ministry * Veliyam Bharghavan – Parliamentarian & Former Kerala state secretary of the party *
Vidya Munshi Vidya Munshi (née Kanuga; 5 December 1919 – 8 July 2014) was a journalist and leader of Communist Party of India. She has been, arguably, the first woman journalist of India. Early life Vidya Kanuga, later Munshi, belonged to a Gujarati family ...
- Journalist *
Vimla Dang Vimla Dang (1926–2009) was an Indian social worker and politician, known for propounding the ''Dang school of Politics'', reportedly a stream of politics adhering to the values of integrity and honesty. She was a leader of the Communist Party ...
- leader of CPI *
V. S. Sunil Kumar V. S. Sunil Kumar (born 30 May 1967) is an Indian politician and the former Minister for Agriculture, Kerala. In 2011, he was elected from Kaipamangalam constituency and in 2016, from Thrissur constituency to Kerala Legislative Assembly. He ...
- Former Agriculture Minister in Kerala * V.V. Raghavan -CPI Central Secretariat Member,Two time Loksabha Member from
Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...
Kerala,
Rajya sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
Member, Former
Agriculture Minister An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...
of Kerala


General election results

* : 12 seats in Assam and 1 in Meghalaya did not vote.


State Legislative assembly results

*N/A indicates Not Available * Results from the Election Commission of India website. Results do not deal with partitions of states (Bihar was bifurcated after the 2000 election, creating
Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ; ) is a state in eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north and Odisha to the south. It has an area of . It ...
), defections and by-elections during the mandate period.


See also

* Politics of India *
List of political parties in India India has a multi-party system. The Election Commission of India (ECI) accords recognition to the national level and the state level political parties based upon objective criteria. A recognised political party enjoys privileges like a reserve ...
*
List of communist parties in India This page contains a list of political parties in India that are aligned with the communist ideology. Most communist parties in India trace their origins to- *(i) the Communist Party of India, the oldest communist party in India, takes part in p ...
* List of communist parties *
Left Democratic Front (Kerala) The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is an alliance of left-wing political parties in the state of Kerala, India. It is the current ruling political alliance of Kerala, since 2016. It is one of the two major political alliances in Kerala, the oth ...
* Left Front (West Bengal) *
Left Front (Tripura) The Left Front is a political alliance in the Indian state of Tripura. The Left Front governed Tripura 1978–1988, and again from 1993 to 2018. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is the dominant party in the coalition. The other three membe ...


Footnotes


Further reading

* Chakrabarty, Bidyut. ''Communism in India: Events, Processes and Ideologies'' (Oxford University Press, 2014). * Devika, J. "Egalitarian developmentalism, communist mobilization, and the question of caste in Kerala State, India." ''Journal of Asian Studies'' (2010): 799-820
online
* D'mello, Vineet Kaitan. "The United Socialist Front: The Congress Socialist Party and the Communist Party of India." ''Proceedings of the Indian History Congress''. Vol. 73. (2012
online
* Haithcox, John Patrick. ''Communism and Nationalism in India'' (Princeton UP, 2015). * Kautsky, John H. ''Moscow and the Communist Party of India: A Study in the Postwar Evolution of International Communist Strategy.'' (MIT Press, 1956). * Kohli, Atul. "Communist Reformers in West Bengal: Origins, Features, and Relations with New Delhi." in ''State Politics in Contemporary India'' (Routledge, 2019) pp. 81–102. * Lockwood, David. ''The communist party of India and the Indian emergency'' (SAGE Publications India, 2016). * Lovell, Julia. '' Maoism: A Global History'' (2019) * Masani, M.R. ''The Communist Party of India: A Short History.'' (Macmillan, 1954)
online
* Overstreet, Gene D., and Marshall Windmiller. ''Communism in India'' (U of California Press, 2020) * Paul, Santosh, ed. ''The Maoist Movement in India: perspectives and counterperspectives'' (Taylor & Francis, 2020). * Pons, Silvio and Robert Service, eds. ''A Dictionary of 20th-Century Communism'' (Princeton UP, 2010) pp 180–182. * Singer, Wendy. "Peasants and the Peoples of the East: Indians and the Rhetoric of the Comintern," in Tim Rees and Andrew Thorpe, ''International Communism and the Communist International, 1919-43.'' (Manchester University Press, 1998). * Steur, Luisa. "Adivasis, Communists, and the rise of indigenism in Kerala." ''Dialectical Anthropology'' 35.1 (2011): 59-76
online
* N.E. Balaram, ''A Short History of the Communist Party of India.'' Kozikkode, Cannanore, India: Prabhath Book House, 1967. * Samaren Roy, ''The Twice-Born Heretic: M.N. Roy and the Comintern.'' Calcutta: Firma KLM Private, 1986.


Primary sources

* G. Adhikari (ed.), ''Documents of the History of the Communist Party of India: Volume One, 1917-1922.'' New Delhi: People's Publishing House, 1971. * G. Adhikari (ed.), ''Documents of the History of the Communist Party of India: Volume Two, 1923-1925.'' New Delhi: People's Publishing House, 1974. * V.B. Karnick (ed.), ''Indian Communist Party Documents, 1930-1956.'' Bombay: Democratic Research Service/Institute of Public Relations, 1957. * Rao, M. B., Ed. ''Documents Of The History Of The Communist Party Of India(1948-1950), Vol. 7'' (1960
online


External links

*
Constitution

primary sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:Communist Party Of India 1925 in India 1925 establishments in India Former member parties of the United Progressive Alliance Communist parties in India Anti-Americanism Anti-capitalist organizations Left-wing parties Left-wing parties in Asia Left-wing politics in India Anti-fascist organizations Anti-imperialist organizations National political parties in India Political parties established in 1925 Indian independence movement Recognised national political parties in India International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties