The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is a communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the national parties of India. The party emerged from a split in the Communist Party of India (CPI) on 7 November 1964. As of 2022, CPI(M) is a part of ruling alliances in two states — the Left Democratic Front in Kerala and the Secular Progressive Alliance in Tamil Nadu. CPIM has representation in the legislative assemblies of 9 states.
The Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest communist party in India and one of the eight national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in Cawnpore on 26 December 1925.
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 other being Indian National Congress-led United Democratic Front, each of which has been in power alternately for the last four decades. LDF has won the elections to the State Legislature of Kerala in the years 1980, 1987, 1996, 2006, 2016 and had a historic re-election in 2021 where an incumbent government was re-elected for first time in 40 years. LDF has won 6 out of 10 elections since the formation of the alliance in 1980. The alliance consists of CPI(M), CPI, KC(M), NCP, JD(S) and various smaller parties.
Harkishan Singh Surjeet was an Indian Communist politician from Punjab, who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from 1992 to 2005 and was a member of the party's Political Bureau from 1964 to 2008.
Jyoti Basu was an Indian politician and one of the most prominent leaders of Communist movement in India. He served as the 6th and longest serving Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1977 to 2000. He was one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India(Marxist). He was the member of politburo of the party since its formation in 1964 till 2008. He was also the member of West Bengal Legislative Assembly 11 times. In his political career of Basu spanning over seven decades, he was noted to have been the India's longest serving chief minister in an elected democracy, at the time of his resignation.
Prakash Karat is an Indian communist politician. He was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from 2005 to 2015.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee also known as Buddha Babu is an Indian politician and a former member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He served as the 7th Chief Minister of West Bengal from 2000 to 2011.
Brinda Karat is an Indian politician, elected to the Rajya Sabha as a Communist Party of India (Marxist) member on 11 April 2005 for West Bengal.
Sitaram Yechury is an Indian politician and a leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). He is a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the largest communist party in India.
Madhukar Kashinath Pandhe was a Politburo member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from 2002 to 2011 and was also the General Secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), one of the largest trade unions in India.
Mohammed Amin was an Indian politician from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the largest communist party in India. He was a Vice President of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions.
Communism in India (1925–1964) has existed as a social or political ideology as well as a political movement since at least as early as the 1920s. In its early years, communist ideology was harshly suppressed through legal prohibitions and criminal prosecutions. Eventually, communist parties became ensconced in national party politics, sprouting several political offshoots.
Biman Bose(July 1, 1938-) is an Indian politician who was once state Secretary of the West Bengal Communist Party of India (Marxist). He was later succeeded by his trusted aide, Surya Kanta Mishra, although he remained a Politburo member of the party. He is also Chairman of the Left Front committee of West Bengal.
Hare Krishna Konar was an Indian Marxist revolutionary, radical activist and Communist politician. Konar was a founding member of Communist Party of India (Marxist), and the leader to start the first land reforms and agrarian reforms in India as well as the chief architect of the West Bengal land and property distribution. In 1930s for making arms and bombs for the Jugantar group, he was deported to the Cellular Jail for 6 years at the age of 18 and there he took part in the first hunger strike and in 1935 he founded the Communist Consolidation and led the historical second hunger strike. Konar was the mentor of freedom fighters like Batukeshwar Dutt, Shiv Verma, Sachindra Nath Sanyal, Ganesh Ghosh, etc.
People's Democracy is the weekly newspaper of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Prakash Karat, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member is the editor of the newspaper. The journal has six editions from New Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, Agartala, and Kochi.
Jagjit Singh Lyallpuri was an Indian politician. He was the oldest surviving member of the founding Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
A. K. Padmanabhan is an Indian Marxist politician and former Politburo member Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The UPA-Left Coordination Committee was a platform dedicated to coordinate policy discussions between the Indian National Congress and the parliamentary left-wing parties during the UPA I cabinet governing India 2004–2009. During this period the parliamentary left parties were providing outside support to the government, without being part of the governing coalition as such.
In 1964 a major split occurred in the Communist Party of India. The split was the culmination of decades of tensions and factional infighting. When India became independent in 1947, differences arose of how to adapt to the new situation. As relations between the Nehru government and the Soviet Union improved, a faction that sought cooperation with the dominant Indian National Congress emerged within CPI. This tendency was led by S.A. Dange, whose role in the party hierarchy became increasingly controversial. When the Sino-Indian War broke out in 1962 Dange's opponents within CPI were jailed, but when they were released they sought to challenge his leadership. In 1964 the party was finally divided into two, with the left faction forming the Communist Party of India (Marxist). The split had a lot of regional variations. It also impacted other organizations, such as trade union and peasant movements. The split has been studied extensively by scholars, who have sought to analyze the various domestic and international factors involved.
Communists were actively involved in Indian independence movement through multiple series of protests, strikes and other activities. It was a part of revolutionary movement for Indian independence. Their main thrust was on organising peasants and working classes across India against the British and Indian capitalists and landlords.
