Editorial : Uniting line: on CPI(M)’s political resolution

By adopting a political resolution acceptable to both the majority and minority sections(अल्पसंख्यक वर्ग), the 22nd party congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) averted(टालना/हटाना) a divisive(बांटनेवाला/भाग करनेवाला) contest for the post of the general secretary and gave a fresh term to the incumbent(निर्भर/पदधारी), Sitaram Yechury. In its essence(सारांश/मूलतत्त्व), the political line was not very different from the draft politica

l resolution backed by the majority section led by former general secretary Prakash Karat, but it was sufficiently (अस्पष्ट/अनिश्‍चित) to give some manoeuvring room to the beleaguered(परेशान/धेरा डालना) Mr. Yechury. The clause(धारा/वाक्यांश) of contention (विवाद/तर्क) related to allying with the Congress to defeat the BJP — with the majority Karat line, backed by most of the Kerala unit, against it, and the minority Yechury line, supported by most of the West Bengal unit, for it. The compromise involved replacing the phrase “without having an understanding or electoral alliance with the Congress party” with “without having a political alliance with the Congress party”. The end-result allowed both sides to claim victory. For the Karat side, ruling out a political alliance meant ruling out an electoral alliance; for the Yechury side, the withdrawal of the specific bar on understanding and electoral alliance with the Congress opened up the possibility of taking such a course. For those not used to the intense(तीव्र/अत्यधिक) debates in Communist parties this might seem more like word-play than sword-fight. But the differences are rooted not only in a theoretical(सैद्धांतिक) understanding of the threat posed by the BJP, whether it is communal authoritarianism(अधिनायकवाद) orfascism(फासीवाद), but also in the practical difficulty of fighting the Congress in Kerala and allying with it elsewhere. If fascism were the only concern for the West Bengal unit, an alliance with the Trinamool Congress should have been just as viable(व्यवहार्य).

However, reducing its whole politics to the question of allying with the Congress would have been a serious mistake for the CPI(M), which built its support base first on the back of working class struggles, and later in opposition to the growing threat from neo-liberalism(उदारवाद), represented in equal measure by the BJP and the Congress. The political line, in any case, allows for an understanding with all secular opposition parties, including the Congress, on agreed issues inside Parliament, and a broad mobilisation of people against communalism(सांप्रदायिकता). The happy compromise allowed Mr. Yechury a second term, leaving the question of whether the unity on theory will hold in practice to be answered at the time of a general election in West Bengal. True, the current political line does not prohibit(निषेध/रोक लगाना) the CPI(M) from having seat adjustments or a post-poll understanding with the Congress. But not even an imaginative(कल्पनाशील) reading of the resolution can allow for the type of alliance the two parties had in West Bengal in 2016.

Important Vocabulary

1.Averted(टालना/हटाना)
Synonyms: avoid, deter, fend off, foil, forestall
Antonyms: aid, allow, assist, help, support

2.Incumbent(निर्भर/पदधारी),
Synonyms: binding, necessary, compelling, urgent
Antonyms: unnecessary

3.Beleaguered(परेशान/धेरा डालना)
Synonyms: annoy, bedevil, beset, plague, badger
Antonyms: aid, make happy, please, assist, help

4.Clause(धारा/वाक्यांश)
Synonyms: article, paragraph, passage, provision, requirement
Antonyms: whole

5.Intense(तीव्र/अत्यधिक)
Synonyms: acute, bitter, deep, energetic, excessive
Antonyms: aboveboard, agreeable, bland, blunt, calm

6.Prohibit(निषेध/रोक लगाना)
Synonyms: ban, block, constrain, enjoin, forbid
Antonyms: advance, aid, allow, approve, assist

7.Essence(सारांश/मूलतत्त्व)
Synonyms: aspect, basis, bottom line, character, core
Antonyms: abstract, exterior, exteriority, outside, top

8.Sufficiently (अस्पष्ट/अनिश्‍चित)
Synonyms: adequately, amply, abundantly, enough
Antonyms: inadequately, insufficiently