MORE OF THE SAME: COMMUNIST NATIONAL MEET OUTLINES FUTURE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CHENNAI 000153

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SENSITIVE

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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM PREL PINR IN
SUBJECT: MORE OF THE SAME: COMMUNIST NATIONAL MEET OUTLINES FUTURE
COURSE OF ACTION

Ref: 07 CHENNAI 707


1. (U) Summary: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) held
its nineteenth Party Congress in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu from March
29 - April 3. The CPM promised continued opposition to U.S.-India
bilateral ties, which it characterized as a subjugation of India's
national interests. The party also took the opportunity to
criticize the performance of the ruling United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) government and discussed its interest in forming a future
"third alliance" of parties based on broad policy issues. During
the conclave, party members adopted political resolutions and
organizational suggestions that condone limited economic development
initiatives, including in the industrial and retail sectors. While
this Party Congress did not produce sweeping changes in the
Politburo leadership and Prakash Karat retained his post as General
Secretary, several new faces were inducted into the decision-making

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body as two elder statesmen of the party were relieved of their
positions at their own requests. End Summary.

Recycled statements and rhetoric
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2. (U) CPM leadership repeated their criticisms of the U.S.-India
relationship they have voiced over the last year. The party's
opposition to the U.S.-India civil nuclear cooperation initiative
and defense cooperation headlined many of the party leaders'
statements during the conclave. Politburo member Sitaram Yechury
claimed the initiative would deprive India of much needed funds that
could be directed towards health and education ventures if natural
gas and hydro electric power generation was pursued instead of
nuclear power plants. He quipped that pursuit of nuclear power
within the framework of the agreement would create a vast divide
between "shining India" and "suffering India."


3. (SBU) General Secretary rakash Karat set his sights on broad
opposition o U.S.-India ties during his interactions with the
press. Karat encouraged his party comrades to "cntinue the
struggle to disentangle India from th strategic embrace of the
United States" and too aim at the U.S.-India defense relationship,
sayng that the defense framework agreement is part of n
overarching alliance which remains unacceptabl to the CPM. Karat
told press during an interviw that the CPM, having succeeded in
pushing "poltical and strategic relations" to the forefront of
public debate in India, would now work to create reater public
support for the pursuit of "indepedent foreign policy." N. Ram,
the editor of TheHindu newspaper, who is a friend of Karat and had
just visited Coimbatore to observe the party congess, told
Consulate officers that Karat's views o U.S.-India relations
represent mainstream thinkng among the CPM. When asked whether
Yechury agees with Karat on this issue, Ram gave an unequivoal
answer saying the two are "of the same mind" nd that any perception
that Yechury is more amenale to the U.S.-India civil nuclear and
defense famework agreements is a misreading. Ram added tha both
Karat and Yechury would be amenable to muli-lateral nuclear energy
agreements.

Setting he stage for policies and parnerships
-------------- --


4. (U) The CPM unanimously accepted the party's political
resolution, which lays out the vision and political platforms of the
party for the next three years, with few amendments to the draft
that was circulated earlier this year. Press reported that the
highlights of the resolution include adages to work against
imperialism, resistance of liberalization and privatization
policies, defense of secularism, and work towards alternative
policies. The resolution will provide the main political direction
and tactical line to party cadres for the next three years.


5. (U) As part of the party's effort to broaden its national
footprint, the conclave also discussed the creation of a "third
alternative" that will work to counter the national Congress and
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). According to statements by Karat
widely covered in the press, this alternative would be based on
adherence to three broad principles of opposition to "anti-people"
economic reforms, communalism, and India's subordination to foreign
interests. Karat publicly distinguished this hypothetical "third
alternative" from the "third front" (formally known as the United
National Progressive Alliance) which he characterized as an
electoral alliance of political convenience.

CPM's relations with Congress: keeping options open
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6. (U) Press coverage of the conclave also afforded the CPM with an
opportunity to attack the policies and performance of the
Congress-led UPA coalition government. According to the CPM's draft
organizational report, the Left parties no longer participate in UPA

CHENNAI 00000153 002 OF 003


coordination committee meetings, which were originally aimed at the
discussion and implementation of the Common Minimum Program, because
they believe the UPA was too open with the media following these
meetings. The party conclave also approved a political resolution
that states the CPM will not enter into any formal, pre-election
alliance with the Congress party at the state or national level.


7. (SBU) While the CPM was quick to critique the Congress'
management of the UPA-Left relationship, the party did not rule out
providing "outside support" to Congress governments (i.e., support
in a post-election scenario that could allow Congress to form a
government) in the future, which would replicate the position and
sway the party currently holds in New Delhi. (Comment: Past party
leadership has expressed interest in joining national coalitions,
most recently in 1996 when then General Secretary Harkishan Singh
Surjeet wanted to join the United Front Government but was opposed
by the Politburo. By keeping their name in the ring as potential
political supporters of Congress governments, the CPM has affirmed
its interest in continuing to play a role in national politics, even
if its "third alternative" fails. End Comment.)

Politburo changes suggest little chance of policy shifts
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8. (U) The CPM conclave held elections for the General Secretary
position, the Central Committee, and the Politburo. Prakash Karat
was re-elected at the General Secretary and there are three new
faces in the Politburo and 17 new Central Committee members,
according to press. West Bengal's Minister of Commerce and Industry
Nirupam Sen -- who has been a staunch supporter of industrialization
in his state -- filled the vacancy created by the death of Anil
Biswas. Center of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) General Secretary
Mohammed Amin, a former West Bengal Minister who heads the party's
trade union, replaced CITU's deceased leader Chittrabata Majmuder.
Amin is a factory worker-turned-politician who can be expected to
represent the interests of the trade union above those of the West
Bengal state where he based. Kerala's Home Minister Kodiyeri
Balakrishnan, who has been implicated in some of the recent BJP-CPM
violence in his state (reftel),rounds out the list of new Politburo
members. In the Central Committee, both West Bengal's Minister of
Housing Gautam Deb, who is a favorite of former Chief Minister Jyoti
Basu, and Mridul De, who is close to Left front Chairman Biman Bose
received seats. Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac also received
a seat in the new 87-member committee. (Comment: Isaac, a Ph.D. in
Economics and a former Leftist academic, is touted by the media as a
"neo-liberal Marxist" mostly due to his openness to IMF- and World
Bank-funded projects. Although he has been characterized by
opponents in his own party as an "imperialist stooge," he is not a
free market proponent and was even in the forefront of
anti-Coca-Cola agitation in Kerala. End Comment.)


9. Nonagenarian Politburo leaders and party founders Jyoti Basu and
former General Secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet were relieved of
their posts in the Politburo. Both had requested to leave the
decision-making body due to health reasons, Surjeet has been
bedridden for the last three years and Basu -- West Bengal's former
Chief Minister -- cannot travel extended distances, according to
press. Basu will remain a special invitee to the Politburo without
voting powers while Surjeet will have a similar status in the
Central Committee. Basu is credited with a central role in the
CPM's successive victories in West Bengal elections over the last 30
years. Surjeet played a more active role in national politics and
has been described as a kingmaker who provided his party's support
to minority governments during the 1990s. According to observers,
the Surjeet-Basu duo was replaced by the Karat-Bhattacharjee pair.

Party condones development initiatives with ideological caveats
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10. (U) While Kerala, which typically represents the more hardline
ideological faction in the party, grew in representative strength on
the Politburo, West Bengal received approval for its economic
development policies, which have been seen to run counter to the
ideological constraints of the Communist party in the past. The
CPM's draft political resolution, which contains the party's stance
on economic policies and reforms, was leaked to the press and
essentially codified West Bengal's approach to industrial
development within the rhetoric of the party. According to the
draft, the party will push for greater industrialization through
private investment, and growth in manufacturing. Large Indian
conglomerates in the organized retail sector will also be allowed to
enter CPM-led states. The report instructed state governments to
frame regulations and create a licensing system in which municipal
governments will provide licenses to the retail outfits. Observers
said that the party informally decided to be more capital friendly
in West Bengal than the circulated documents suggest. A fusion of
Bhattacharjee's economic line and Karat's ideological "party line"
was evident. Bhattacharjee's new model -- industrialization and

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capitalism in the common man's interest -- was acknowledged.


11. (U) The draft report kept an eye towards the ideological
precepts of the party and drew a distinction between Left-led
Kerala's economic situation and that of West Bengal. According to
press, the report stated that industrialization in Kerala cannot be
along the same pattern as in West Bengal and took into account the
concerns of CPM Chief Minister of Kerala V.S. Achuthanandan, who has
historically opposed the development of manufacturing industries and
changes in land-use patterns in his state. The party's report also
said that "the Left-led governments, while fostering more
investments and industries, will formally continue to defend the
interests of workers and trade union rights" and added that it is
"necessary to develop industrialization on the basis of agricultural
growth."

Mixed party prospects in run-up to elections
--------------


12. (U) The organization report also included analysis of party
prospects in addition to attrition and retention rates nationwide,
according to press. The party now claims 982,000 "basic members,"
up from 905,000 in 2005, according to a public statement from
Politburo member Ramachandran Pillai. He expressed concern,
however, about the quality of members and uneven growth rates in
different states. According to press, Tamil Nadu's drop out rate
among full-time party cadres is more than 16 percent, and the
national attrition average of this group is 7.5 percent. Women make
up only 12 percent of the party. Pillai said on the sidelines on
the conclave that there was no "substantial breakthrough in
increasing party membership in the states where we are weak."

Foreign delegates generate press buzz
--------------


13. (U) More than 770 Indian delegates and about 50 international
representatives attended the six day party congress. Both Karat and
Yechury welcomed the international visitors to the conclave, and
large cut-outs of Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro, along with Marx,
Lenin, accompanied by numerous images of Karat and Yechury decked
the streets of Coimbatore. According to press, the delegates from
Cuba and the United States received loud rounds of applause when
they were presented, while the six-person Chinese delegation
garnered the loudest volume of appreciation for their attendance.


14. (U) The two American delegates garnered broad press coverage
during the Congress and were described as almost "unbelievable"
rarities by one media outfit. Both the American and Cuban missions
to the conclave criticized the United State's international
policies, while the Chinese delegation, led by Li Jinjun, the
vice-minister of the Communist Party of China's International
Department, stuck to expressing China's pleasure concerning India
and the Indian Left's stand on Tibet.

Comment: CPM's Opposition to U.S. and the Congress Party: A Winning
Formula in Kerala and West Bengal
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15. (SBU) The repetitive rhetoric on display against U.S. policies
during the party congress suggests the CPM is prepared to make the
U.S.-India relationship a central facet of its campaign in national
elections that must be held before May 2009. While this may work in
some pockets, it is unlikely to be a winning formula nationwide for
the communists. The CPM continues to project itself as a national
party of import but there are many reasons why it is not, chief
among them that most Indians have moved far beyond the communists'
antiquated policy prescriptions and shrill ideological blather.
Even if the party can cobble together a "third alliance," the
likelihood of multiple regional parties with their own interests
adhering to a single strategic line is unlikely. Having found a
winning formula that allows the party to direct and influence the
central government from its political outposts in West Bengal and
Kerala, it remains more likely that the CPM will continue to
leverage its relationship with the UPA government to impede policies
and obstruct further progress on U.S.-India relations in the run up
to the next election.


16. (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy New Delhi and
Consulate General Kolkata.

HOPPER