Resistance Against Fascism Should be Intensified as BJP-led Regime is Set to Retain Power for a Third Term !
BJP being very much short of the seats predicted by Godi Media exit polls, the emerging political situation is now uncertain. However, the fascist BJP-led NDA, may continue to retain power for a third consecutive term. Modi’s “400-paar” prediction for NDA and “370-paar” for the BJP has become a farce, and BJP has faced heavy losses in its traditional strongholds like Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan, despite unexpected gains in some southern States including even in Kerala where the pro-fascist role of ruling CPI (M) has facilitated account-opening by BJP for the first time. Contrary to its own prediction of 370 seats for itself, with just 240 seats, BJP is short of 32 for majority mark, while the total for the entire NDA coalition is expected to be 291 seats. Compared to 2019 Lok Sabha election when BJP had secured 303 seats on its own and NDA over 350, now there is substantial erosion in the electoral base of fascist RSS -BJP, even as the Congress-led INDIA-Alliance is set to win 234 seats.
While ‘Modi Guarantee’ is in shambles, ardent salute goes to the working and oppressed people including minorities, Dalits Adivasis and women of UP for inflicting the heavy blow to the fascist “double engine”, the Modi-Yogi combine. Winning 37 seats, Samajvadi Party, the second largest partner in INDIA Bloc, has increased its vote share from more than 18% to more than 33%, while Congress could win 6 instead of one in the 2019 election. With BJP’s seat- share going down by half, the electoral dynamics itself has been altered in UP. It is also reflected in a defeat of the fascist candidate in Faizabad where Ram Temple is located and even in halving of Modi’s electoral margin in Varanasi compared to 2019. The TMC with the backing of people has raised it’s tally from 22 to 29 by almost routing the unholy CPI (M)-Congress alliance in Bengal. DMK’s initiative in Tamil Nadu in blocking the fascist RSS-BJP is also notable. However, the Congress’ debacle in MP due to its State-leadership’s soft-Hindutva approach and significant blow suffered in Karnataka where it is ruling, on account of the betrayal of Veerashaiva Lingayat like caste-Hindu sections within Congress, have adversely affected the winning possibility of INDIA-Alliance.
In spite of these, the emerging political scenario reveals a set-back and a rude shock for fascist Modi regime which had already transformed all Constitutional bodies ranging from Judiciary to the Election Commission and the entire administrative institutions including bureaucracy and police as it’s tools and above all manipulation of corporate-media for its fascist propaganda blitzkrieg. However, the election results show that people are capable and ready to overcome these fascist onslaughts provided a political initiative is there. It also points to the fact that, if the INDIA-Alliance was successful in taking up its task sufficiently early and in an appropriate manner, and could put forward a united initiative, the fascists would have been routed in the election. But due to their own pettiness and political bankruptcy, the constituents of INDIA-Alliance were competing each other in many States and thus dividing the anti-fascist votes.
Still, in view of the presence of a strong parliamentary opposition, and since space for Modi brand “hate politics” being dwindled, it will be difficult for the RSS-BJP fascists to carry forward the series of tasks already initiated as part of the Hindurashtra agenda including undermining of the Constitution. The biggest single-day collapse of the Stock indices, which sky-rocketed following exit poll predictions, now losing more ₹ 30 lakh crore, with Adani-Ambani alone losing more than ₹ 5 lakh crore in one single-day, has once again exposed the unholy nexus that Modi regime has with the most corrupt crony capitalists. It opens up new avenues for the Indian working class and peasants and all toiling people to rise up against the far-right neoliberalism of the pro-corporate, Brahmanic and Islamophobic Modi regime which will find it difficult to continue super-imposing its exploitative and oppressive domestic policies leading to horrific levels of inequality, poverty, unemployment, and inflation on the one hand, and to pursue its expansionist policies towards neighbouring countries and it’s alliance with global neofascist forces including Zionists and betrayal of the Palestinian people. It is high time on the part of all democratic and progressive forces to resolutely come forward organising and politicising the people against the draconian Farm and Labour laws and a series of pro-corporate tax and environmental deregulations together with building up resistance for repealing the series of unconstitutional moves including abrogation of Article 370, promulgation of CAA, UCC, and EWS (Economic Reservation) and so on brought forward by Modi. Much hardwork is needed even for reversing the immense damage already inflicted by the fascist Modi regime on the polity, economy, social and cultural fabric of multi-lingual, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and diversified India, and above all against the majoritarian Hindutva polarisation superimposed by the fascists.
At the same time, taking into account the political weakness of the INDIA-Alliance partners and allies ranging from Congress to CPI (M) including their affinity towards neoliberalism, it is upto the revolutionary, left and democratic forces to come forward with a political alternative from the perspectives of the workers, peasants and all oppressed, which is also indispensable for compelling the parliamentary opposition to work in tune with the Constitutional tasks.
However, even though fascists are relatively weakened at the level of State power, people should not be oblivious of the fact that the RSS which controls the reins of BJP operates mostly through the extra-parliamentary route. Over the years, using Modi regime as the umbrella, RSS has penetrated it’s tentacles through innumerable organisations gaining greater country-wide social roots and capability. And, irrespective of the political setbacks of BJP, even while trying to bring about appropriate manipulations in its political tool, the RSS will move forward with its ultimate agenda of establishing a far-right Hindurashtra without any let up. Hence, the protracted political struggle against fascism in the coming days needs to be integrated with the arduous task of wiping out the deep political and social-cultural roots of Indian fascism, especially targeting at its Islamophobic and casteist dimensions which the parliamentary opposition parties cannot take on account their inherent weaknesses.
Hence, as we have already mentioned in our Nagpur Declaration released following the Anti-Fascist People’s Convention at Nagpur on 10 March, this task calls for the independent initiative of the ideologically and politically equipped Revolutionary Left and Democratic forces uniting with all anti-fascist forces. If such an initiative is forthcoming, as election results from UP and other heartlands of India amply show, the broad masses of working and oppressed people are ready to shoulder the historic task of overcoming not only fascism, but also for imparting death blows to its ultimate beneficiaries, the corporate-crony capitalists, both Indian and international and their ruling lackeys.
On this occasion, the CPI (ML) Red Star once again extends its revolutionary greetings to the people of India who have inflicted a powerful blow to the fascists in the 18th Lok Sabha election.
P J James
General Secretary
CPI (ML) Red Star
New Delhi
05-06-2024
