The Odisha Communist Party is a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in the
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 ...
n state of
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
. OCP was formed in the beginning of the 1990s as a splinter group of
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 ...
. The party is led by Ajeya Rou
When the split occurred the dissidents tried to capture the trade union structure of CPI(M) in the mining areas in northern Odisha. This led to violent conflict. But the OCP-ers themselves came from southern Odisha, and they were not able to convince the northern grassroots to follow them. In the end the OCP-ers had to leave the mining areas. Today OCP is more or less defunct. It has good relations with 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 ...
, who gave OCP an office in the state capital
Bhubaneshwar
Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango tr ...
.
Radhakanta Sethi
Radhakanta Sethy (born in 1959/1960) is an Indian politician and trade unionist.
Sethy is the son of Binakar Sethy. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pattamundai College in 1982. He lives in Banto, Kendrapara district.
Sethy was elec ...
, who was elected to the Odisha legislative assembly as a CPI(M)-candidate, joined OCP in 1992 after a period as an independen
OCP participates in the
Confederation of Indian Communists and Democratic Socialists
Confederation of Indian Communist and Democratic Socialists (CICDS) was a confederation of pro- left-wing parties in India.''Times of India''. Cong offers two seats to Communist Confederation'
The constituent parties of CICDS included:
* United C ...
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Political parties established in the 1990s
Political parties in Odisha
Communist parties in India
Communist Party of India (Marxist) breakaway groups
1990s establishments in Orissa