INDIA'S COMMUNISTS ADOPT AMBITIOUS AGENDAS AT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 003432

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/06/2015
TAGS: ECON PINR IN
SUBJECT: INDIA'S COMMUNISTS ADOPT AMBITIOUS AGENDAS AT
PARTY CONGRESSES

REF: NEW DELHI 3365

Classified By: Charge Robert O. Blake, Jr. for Reasons 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) Summary: India's Communist parties have been
energized by their growing power as "kingmakers" who keep the
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in power. During
recently-concluded party congresses, they passed the baton to
dynamic new leaders and broadened their agenda to take on
ambitious new goals. Newly-elected Communist Party of India
(Marxist) General Secretary Prakash Karat hopes to mobilize
the Left around a program emphasizing rural concerns such as
land reform and caste discrimination, while integrating the
Indian Left into a worldwide movement against "globalization
and liberalization." Confident that their power has
solidified in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura, the Communists
hope to expand into the "Hindi Belt" before forming a "Third
Front" capable of coming to power in New Delhi. The
Communists acknowledge that there is no alternative to
improved US-India relations, which can benefit India, but
view Washington as the architect of a world system that
opposes Indian interests. The outcome of the West Bengal and
Kerala state elections in 2006 will indicate whether they are
able to maintain their current momentum. End Summary.

Passing the Torch
--------------


2. (U) The four parties of the Left Front (LF) completed
their party Congresses between February 17 and April 11. The
Communist Party of India (Marxist) Congress from April 6-11
was the most important, as the CPI(M) is the LF flagship. On
April 11, CPI(M) General Secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet
stepped down as the party General Secretary and the party
elected Prakash Karat to replace him. His wife, Brinda
Karat, became the first female elected to the CPI(M)
Politburo.


3. (U) Karat quickly laid out an ambitious agenda that he
hoped would further extend LF influence. In his acceptance
speech, he emphasized that the CPI(M) was "a party of the
young," and would continue to recruit among colleges and
universities, while expanding beyond its traditional base in
West Bengal, Tripura, and Kerala into the rural areas of the
Hindi heartland on North India. Karat also pledged to move
beyond the traditional Marxist emphasis on class identity to
address the caste discrimination that plagues the
Hindi-speaking states.


4. (U) The LF parties also agreed that their support for the
Congress-dominated UPA government was only "temporary," and
was aimed primarily at preventing a return of the BJP to
power in New Delhi. However, Karat emphasized both to the
press and to the Charge (reftel) that the LF would not
withdraw support to the UPA, which would serve out a full
term. While the LF opposes some UPA economic policies, he
noted, it would keep the UPA in power as long as it
implemented the Common Minimum Program (CMP).


5. (U) The CPI(M) pledged to work for the formation of a
"Third Front" government that would not include Congress or
the BJP, but the political situation would have to "mature"
before this could occur. Karat pointed out that "We do not
think this country requires a Congress-led combination and a
BJP-led combination alone. There are enough forces to form a
third alternative." He maintained that an LF led Front would
provide a "more stable viable alternative," as it would not
just be an electoral alliance but be based on a "common
policy platform."

Nice to US in Person - Otherwise Very Tough
--------------


6. (C) In a May 4 meeting with the Charge (reftel),Karat
was conciliatory, but his wrap-up article of the CPI(M)
congress in the party newspaper "People's Democracy," was
confrontational. Decrying Congress as a "bourgeois-landlord"
party, Karat maintained that the CPI(M) will unite the Left
parties, project a "democratic alternative," and strengthen
the Left in Parliament.


7. (U) Claiming that "US imperialism is continuing its
offensive," Karat accused the US of "violating the
sovereignty of independent nations in its quest for total
hegemony." Stating that the US "is prepared to utilize its
military might to make countries fall in line," Karat cited
"the occupation of Iraq," threats against North Korea, Iran
and Syria, "covert work against the Venezuelan government,"
and "hostile measures against Cuba," as evidence of US
aggression.


8. (U) Karat listed the Left's principal goals as "advancing
the struggle against communalism, pro-big business economic
policies and imperialism." Urging Communists not to
underestimate the power of the BJP and RSS to regroup
following their recent "defeats," he questioned the ability
of Congress to "carry out a consistent struggle against
communal and divisive forces," and called on "the Left and
other democratic and secular parties" to devise a joint
program to come to power in New Delhi.


9. (U) Karat criticized the BJP/NDA for "facilitating" the
growth of imperialism, "particularly US influence in India's
domestic, economic, political and foreign policy affairs."
Although there has been "a shift in emphasis," since the BJP
defeat, Congress continues to "pursue policies of
liberalization" and "the strategic collaboration with the US
and its deep inroads remain." He noted that the CPI(M) has
resolved to focus on India's countryside and rural economy,
and social issues including the rights of dalits, tribals,
religious minorities and women.

Other Communist Views
--------------


10. (C) In recent meetings with Poloff, other Communist
leaders were not as united as their public facade suggests.
Decrying the Communist Party of India (CPI) as "not genuinely
Marxist," Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) leader Abani
Roy criticized the party as "opportunistic, too close to
Congress, and too willing to compromise for power." Roy was
also suspicious of plans to expand into the "Hindi Belt,"
urging Left parties not to subordinate their interests to
regional parties to gain influence, and saying that Leftists
must remain "true to their principles." Praising Karat as a
"genuine Marxist," Roy predicted that he would present a
moderate face only as a tactic to gain power and "institute
Marxism."


11. (C) CPI Secretary D Rajan emphasized the need for "left
unity," to construct a united movement that would include the
Maoists. Noting that Maoists must first renounce violence
and embrace parliamentary democracy, he predicted that the
CPI and CPI(M) would unite, before making overtures to the
Maoist Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist),with the
ultimate goal of creating a united Communist movement.


12. (C) CPI MP S Sudhakra Reddy emphasized that Congress did
not do enough to combat secularism, pointing out that the CPI
supported the US revocation of Gujarat Chief Minister Modi's
visa, while the "left of center" Congress defended the
"right-wing" Modi in Parliament. Reddy accused Congress of
"ignoring Left analysis" on FDI in key sectors such as
insurance and telecommunication, and failing to "regulate
multi-national corporations (MNCs). He emphasized that the
Left is determined to "defend the public sector" and accused
Congress of reneging on agreements to reopen "sick units."
Reddy emphasized that the Indian Left favored a Nehru-style
mixed economy and did not advocate total nationalization.
The CPI is not opposed to privatization, but would not allow
MNCs and Indian capitalists "a blank check," in contrast to
Congress, which was even pushing privatization of essential
public services such as transport, he stated.


13. (C) Reddy dismissed talk of recruiting the Maoists into
a united Communist movement, pointing out that they are bent
on taking over Nepal and carving out a corridor between north
India and Nepal. In his home state of Andhra Pradesh (AP),
the Maoists murder Communists, as they "cannot come to power
as long as there are cadres waving the red flag in
Parliament," he stated.


14. (C) Reddy acknowledged that India and the US have grown
closer, that these ties will be "permanent," and that the
Left parties "applaud" this trend. He claimed, however, that
the US has yet to convince most Indians that it is
"pro-India." It must first shed its cold war baggage, and
learn to treat India as and "equal partner" rather than "a
market for US goods." In AP, the CPI has grown by 25 percent
to 96,000 members in the past year, with most new members
under 45 and coming from rural areas. He lamented that the
CPI would not have the same success in the "Hindi belt,"
where caste-based regional parties have marginalized all the
national parties.


15. (C) Forward Bloc leader G Devarajan predicted that an
energized Left would maintain labor agitation in urban areas,
including strikes against electricity rate hikes, and
increased FDI in the banking sector, while expanding its
activities into the rural sector. He claimed that a
coalition of CPI, CPI(M),and CPI(ML) activists would launch
a "mass education" campaign to forcibly occupy land in Bihar
and distribute it to landless laborers, as a first step in
planned expansion into Bihar, Jharkhand, and AP. Devarajan
praised the election of Karat, saying that it would "change
attitudes" and lead to a "more aggressive" left movement in
India.

Comment
--------------


16. (C) The past 12 months have been historic for India's
Communist parties. They have gained unprecedented influence
by becoming the "kingmakers" whose continued support keeps
the UPA government in power, and passed leadership to a
younger and more dynamic generation. They have also devised
an ambitious expansion program and begun to dream of the day
they can end their relationship with Congress and play an
independent role in Indian politics. Karat enjoys widespread
support within the Left and plans to energize the Communists
to support a revamped agenda that will go beyond the
traditional concerns of urban industrial workers. Under
Karat, the Left will try to take up caste concerns currently
monopolized by regional parties, move into territory
currently occupied by the Maoists and mobilize the rural
underclass (landless peasants, dalits, tribals) who have been
largely left out of India's economic boom. The end goal is
to fashion a Communist-dominated alliance capable of
supplanting regional and Maoist parties and coming to power
in New Delhi.


15. (C) Under Karat, the Left will also adopt a more modern
focus against "globalization and liberalization." Far less
parochial than India's traditional Communist leaders, Karat
wants to place India's Communists in an international context
by joining hands with "anti-globalization" movements in
Latin America and South Asia. Despite his professed
willingness to work with the US, Karat views Washington as
the principal architect and anchor of a global system that
works against Indian interests. In his view, confrontation
between the US and an ascendant Left, while not imminent, is
therefore inevitable. The ability of the Communist to
carry-out their agenda will become clear in 2006, when they
contest elections in their strongholds of Kerala and West
Bengal.
BLAKE