Communist Party of India (CPI)

Communist Party of India (CPI) Factsheet
Founded on	December 1925
Founder	M.N.Roy, Abani Mukherjee, Evelyn Trent Roy who was M.N. Roy's wife, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Siddiqui
Prominent leaders of CPI	A.B. Bardhan, S.Sudhakar Reddy, Dr. M. Nara Singh, Gurudas Dasgupta, D. Raja
Secretary - General	S. Sudhakar Reddy
National Executive Member	Dr. M. Nara Singh
Philosophy	Communism
Election symbol
Alliance	Left Front
Party type	National Party
CPI Youth Wing	All India Youth Federation
Student Wing	All India Students Federation
Labour Wing	All India Trade Union Congress and Bharatiya Khet Mazdoor Union
Peasant's Wing	All India Kisan Sabha (Ajoy Bhavan)
Colour	Red
Seats in Lok Sabha	2 out of 545
Seats in Rajya Sabha	1 out of 245
Head office address	Ajoy Bhavan, 15, Indrajit Gupta Marg, New Delhi-110002
Phone no.	+91 11 23235546, +91 11 23235099, +91 11 23235058, +91 11 23237972
Fax	+91 11 23235543
Official website	http://www.communistparty.in/

Communist Party of India (CPI) is one strand of the many Indian political parties with a communist ideology. It is the oldest party to have begun the communist movement in India. It was born at a time when India was facing the severest colonial imperial oppressions. Inspired by the Great October Socialist Revolution in Russia in 1917, and the victory of the working-class under the leadership of the Bolsheviks and guided by Lenin, this group of young Indian freedom fighters wanted to utilize the ideal of Marxism to the Indian anti-imperialist struggles. Their militant and revolutionary spirits were inclined towards improving the dismal conditions of the working-class of the country. Many of these communists worked together with the workers, peasants, trade unions and labourers, as part of a class-struggle against imperialist forces. Their rallying Marxian outcry was "Workers of All Lands Unite". These young and ignited communist minds came together in Kanpur and founded the CPI in December 1925, at the foundation meeting. The founding members were M.N.Roy, Abani Mukherjee, Evelyn Trent Roy who was M.N. Roy's wife, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Siddiqui and others. CPI's strong agendas were to study and struggle together - study in order to enhance ideas and struggle in order to liberate the nation from imperial forces, thus bringing about socialism. The party started functioning legally from 1942.

Election Symbol and its Significance

The Election Symbol of the CPI is ears of corn and a sickle. This is usually depicted on a red-coloured flag, which is the colour of struggle symbolizing a communist party. The ears of corn and a sickle are very significant. It depicts that the CPI is a party of the peasants, of farmers, or labourers, who work in the fields and earn a living. It depicts the conditions of the working class. The sickle is used to cut corn and all other crops in the field. The farmer toils in the field and at the end of the day gets a meagre amount as pay. This is represented by the CPI. It is a party of the poor and the oppressed in society. The CPI, through its Marxian ideologies and practices, in support with the trade unions present across the country, addresses the issues of the workers.

Leaders of Communist Party of India

The leaders of the CPI, who are also their national representatives and executives, are the following:

• A.B. Bardhan, the former General Secretary of CPI
  Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan, one of the oldest party members of the CPI is from Nagpur and has contested a number of elections. He is a dedicated comrade to the communist struggle and succeeded Indrajit Gupta as the General Secretary of the party in 1996.
• S.Sudhakar Reddy, the General Secretary of CPI
  Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy succeeded Bardhan in the capacity of General Secretary in 2012. He is from Hyderabad and represents the Nalgonda constituency of Andhra Pradesh as an MP. Reddy has actively participated in a number of historic mass struggles in India.


• Dr. M. Nara Singh, National Executive Member
  Dr. Singh is the current State Secretary of the Manipur branch of the CPI. He was former minister in the government of Manipur and a well-known leader among the masses.
• Gurudas Dasgupta
  Dasgupta is a notable leader of the CPI and an MP in the 15th Lok Sabha. He was a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee investigating the recent 2G spectrum scandal in India.
• D. Raja, National Secretary of CPI
  Raja is a MP of the Rajya Sabha. He has written a number of notable books, most important being 'The Way Forward: Fight Against Unemployment'.

Achievments of the party

As a national political party, the CPI has made a number of significant contributions to the political scenario of the country. Some of these are listed below:

• The CPI has made its strong presence felt in the states of Manipur and Tripura where it is part of the Left Front, in Kerala as part of the Left Democratic Front and in Tamil Nadu, as part of the Progressive Democratic Alliance. Each of these are alliances of the communist parties across India.
• The CPI also has a number of principal mass organizations like All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), All India Youth Federation (AIYF), peasant and agricultural workers' organizations such as All India Kisan Sabha and Bharatiya Khet Mazdoor Union.
• CPI has made a prominent contribution to the cause of women in the country through its very active organization National Federation of Indian Women. Its student wing, the AISF or All India Students Federation has made its presence felt in a number of colleges, universities and participated in student politics across India.

The CPI, like all left parties in India, operates on the principle of democratic centralism. Its highest working body is the Congress. The CPI, as part of the Left Front, has raised its voice against a number of agendas of the Congress-led UPA government. Although initially in collaboration with the UPA, the CPI withdrew support when the Congress went ahead with the United States- India Peaceful Atomic Energy Cooperation Act. According to the CPI, this and many other steps of the present UPA government, such as disinvestment of profit making PSUs, introducing FDIs in finance sector and MNCs in retail sector are clearly anti-people policies. The CPI has always reflected the interests of the working-class.

Contact Details

• Official Website of CPI-http://www.communistparty.in/
• Head-Office Address of CPI- Ajoy Bhavan, 15, Indrajit Gupta Marg, New Delhi-110002
• Contact Numbers-Phone: +91 11 23235546, +91 11 23235099, +91 11 23235058, +91 11 23237972
• Fax :+91 11 23235543
• Email id:[email protected]

CPI Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha Election Results Year Wise

Lok Sabha				Vidhan Sabha
State	Latest Year	Seats Won		Latest Year	Seats Won
Bihar	2019	0		2020	2
Kerala	2019	0		2021	17
Tamil Nadu	2019	2		2021	2
Telangana	2019	0		2018	0
Tripura	2019	0		2018	1
West Bengal	2019	0		2021	0