The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met on May 10-11, 2026 in New Delhi. It has issued the following statement.

Assembly Election Results: Assembly elections were held in five states – Assam, Keralam, Puducherry, Tamilnadu and West Bengal in April.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) suffered a serious setback in Keralam after ten years of continuous rule. For the first time, the BJP was able to win three seats, which poses a serious threat. The conduct of the Congress, making baseless allegations and spreading canards against the CPI(M), along with its soft approach towards communal forces, contributed to the growth of the BJP in Kerala.

Despite the loss, the LDF was able to secure 37.6 percent of the vote, demonstrating its support among the people. The PB thanks all LDF cadre and sympathisers who worked hard during the elections, as well as the people of Keralam who voted for us. The Party will be in the forefront in resisting the growth of communal forces in the state and will protect the secular, democratic fabric of society. It will continue to take up the issues of the people and resist any attacks on their livelihood and democratic rights.

The Party has conducted a preliminary review of the results and will conduct an in-depth review in the coming days to identify the weaknesses responsible for this setback. The opinions of all Party members and well-wishers will be taken into consideration during this review. Necessary course correction and rectification will be made to strengthen the Party.

The victory of the BJP in West Bengal is a major blow and has been achieved on the basis of a communal, divisive and vitriolic hate campaign, the huge amount of money it spent, and the gross misuse of central agencies, including the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the SIR exercise. The BJP also benefited from the strong anti-incumbency against the corrupt and authoritarian TMC government. Together with the re-election of the BJP in Assam with an increased majority, we notice an ascendancy of Hindutva-communal, right-wing forces. The BJP’s alliance with the NR Congress also won in Puducherry.

The BJP and its allies tried to sabotage the electoral verdict in Tamilnadu by using the Governor’s office. They tried their best to prevent the formation of a government led by Sri C. Joseph Vijay, the leader of the TVK. When all their attempts failed, the Governor was forced to swear him in as the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu.

The CPI(M), along with the CPI and the VCK, extended support to the TVK-led government to safeguard secular, democratic, and constitutional principles. We congratulate the newly sworn-in government and hope that it will live up to the expectations of the people and fulfill the promises it has made.

Condemn the PM’s Call for Austerity: It is extremely ironic that the Prime Minister called upon the people to implement austerity measures due to the ongoing war in West Asia. The government has utterly failed to safeguard the interests of the people because of its decision to completely align with the US-Israel axis, which was responsible for the attacks on Iran (a fellow member of BRICS) and for the present situation. The government failed to condemn the attacks on Iran and refused to blame the US-Israel axis for the current imbroglio. Instead of asking the people to consume less and lead an austere life, the government should join the Global South in pressuring the US to stop its attacks and allow free transit through the Strait of Hormuz. If the government had some foresight and diversified its oil basket, we would not be in the present predicament.

The agricultural season is going to start very shortly, and if fertilizers are not made available to farmers on a priority basis, our food production will be severely affected. This will have a debilitating effect on the livelihood of our people and on the entire economy. It is the duty of the government to immediately take steps to procure fertilizers and make them available to farmers.

The Prime Minister’s statement exposes the claims of the BJP-led Union government that there is nothing to worry about the Indian economy. His statement itself proves that all is not well with the economy. The timing of the PM’s statements also needs to be noted – they were made days after the announcement of the election results. This has been done deliberately to gloss over the economic reality from the people, with an eye on winning elections on the basis of falsehoods.

The PB calls upon the people to be ready to resist burdens that the government intends to impose in the name of austerity.

Notification of Labour Codes: The BJP-led Union Government wished to operationalise the Labour Codes from April 1, 2026 itself, but waited until the Assembly elections were over in four states and a union territory to notify the rules. Within just four days after the announcement of the results, they have now operationalised the Labour Codes. This exposes the deceptive modus operandi of the BJP-led Union Government. The BJP-led governments in the states are eager to implement the Labour Codes and have prepared the state draft rules. The fact that it proceeded to notify the rules, ignoring the mass protests of workers demanding minimum wages and better living conditions, and opposing long working hours, exposes the anti-working class character of the BJP.

The CPI(M) urges the state governments to exercise their legislative powers under the Constitution of India, bring in corrective amendments to the Labour Codes, and protect the interests of the workers, instead of operationalising them as per the Central Rules that have been notified.

The PB reiterates its support for the workers and will stand with them in resisting the implementation of these newly notified rules for the Labour Codes.

Delimitation: The BJP-led Union Government tried to push its agenda of changing the electoral map of the country in the name of carrying out the delimitation exercise. It linked the Women’s Reservation Bill with delimitation and sought to win support. The opposition collectively defeated the BJP’s designs, as the proposal required a constitutional amendment and hence a two-thirds majority. The BJP tried to project the entire opposition as anti-women but could not succeed. Though the opposition was able to push back the BJP’s efforts this time, the danger of delimitation persists. The way the entire exercise is proposed is intended to benefit the BJP electorally. It is also intended to decrease the influence of southern states, where the BJP continues to have a weak presence. This once again demonstrates that the BJP is now effectively using State institutions to implement its agenda.

The CPI(M) reiterates its demand to implement the Women’s Reservation Bill starting from the next round of elections. There is no need to link this Bill with the delimitation exercise.

Impact of SIR: The SIR exercise, initiated by the Election Commission of India (ECI) during the Bihar assembly elections, had a huge impact on the recently concluded assembly elections in West Bengal. The ECI introduced a new category, ‘logical discrepancies’, which was used to delete nearly 2.7 million names from the electoral rolls, even after these voters appealed and furnished all appropriate documentary evidence. Various studies are reporting the impact such deletions had on the electoral outcome. Never in the history of independent India have electoral rolls been tampered with to ensure the interests of a particular political party. The entire exercise undermines the credibility of our election system. Using their cadre, who have penetrated almost all echelons of State institutions, the RSS-BJP is trying to achieve its objectives. The appointment of an Election Observer to the post of advisor to the newly sworn BJP Chief Minister of Bengal is a proof of such penetration. The ECI’s role in pushing ahead with the SIR without listening to the various parties that are critical of the process is a clear example of this. The Supreme Court’s stand on this vital issue is extremely unfortunate.

Workers Protests: The past two months have witnessed some of the most intense and spontaneous working-class protests. These protests were primarily concentrated around the National Capital Region (NCR), though they were also held in other states. A majority of the protesting workers are contract workers, migrant labourers, and informal workers. Many of them are young and recently employed. They have effectively used modern communication channels like social media to vent their grievances and also to mobilise. In most places, they protested spontaneously without any union to lead them.

The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh tried to suppress these protests and unleashed police forces. Hundreds of workers were arrested, and many of them are still in jail. However, the intensity of the protests and the attention they gained throughout the country forced the government to increase minimum wages, though the increase itself is paltry.

The PB demands that the concerned governments immediately withdraw all the false cases lodged against the workers, address their grievances, increase their minimum wages, and treat the issue as a labour dispute and not as a law and order issue.

Threats to Cuba: The US has yet again announced that it will ‘take over’ Cuba and has further tightened sanctions. It is threatening a military invasion of Cuba. On May 1, it passed an order declaring mandatory secondary sanctions against any foreign entity that operates or conducts transactions with Cuban entities. This order is an instrument of direct coercion against sovereign third-party States and threatens the global financial system.

The PB expresses its strong solidarity with Cuba and appeals to the people of our country to join in condemning US threats; it demands the immediate lifting of the economic blockade.

Foreign Policy of the Indian Government: The Indian government failed to unequivocally condemn the US aggression against Iran. As the Chair of BRICS, this failure is even more glaring, and India is losing its standing among the countries of the Global South. Despite mounting US pressure on Cuba, the Indian government is not ready to take a firm position expressing its solidarity with Cuba. This is yet another demonstration of the BJP-led Union government’s subservient foreign policy stance.

CC Meeting: The Central Committee of the CPI(M) will meet from May 22-24,  2026 in Delhi and discuss in-depth the review of the assembly elections and also the fast changing political developments.