Leftists Need Deeper Self-Introspection and United Movements for People’s Victory Against Fascist Rule: P. J. James
Sankar Inquilab Elected as the Odisha State Secretary along with 11-Member State Committee
The two-day 8th Odisha State Conference of the CPI (ML) Red Star was successfully held at the Lohia Academy in Bhubaneswar on 28th and 29th July. Senior party leader Comrade Batakrushna Rout hoisted the party flag to begin the state conference proceedings. The conference commemorated all martyrs and Comrade Charu Majumdar as his Martyrdom Day was coincided with the first day of conference.
The open session, organized under the presidency of Party State Secretary Comrade Pramila, commenced with a welcome address by Professor Swadhin Pattanaik.
General Secretary of CPI (ML) Red Star, Comrade P. J. James, inaugurated the session and explained the relevance of the 13th All-India Congress of the Party which will be held in Raichur, Karnataka, from September 16 to 20, 2026.
In his address, he stated that in the 21st century, the authoritarian rule and fascist attacks of the RSS-BJP are covertly shrinking all democratic rights of the people. While election and parliamentary systems exist under this regime—which has seized power from the streets to the state—it works solely for the interests of capitalists by sacrificing the welfare of the general public. To counter this, he called upon all communist parties to engage in deep self-introspection and lead popular movements firmly to guarantee the people’s victory.
On the first day’s inaugural session, congratulatory messages for the success of the conference were delivered by: Judhistir Mohapatra (State Secretary, CPI-ML Liberation)
Srikanta Mohanty (State Secretary, CPI-ML)
Suresh Panigrahi (State Secretary, CPI-M)
Sankar Dasgupta (State Secretary, SUCI-Communist)
Dr. Prasanta Mishra (State Secretary, CPI)
Jyoti Ranjan Mohapatra (General Secretary, Forward Block)
Prof. Bijoy Bahidar
Biswapriya Kanungo (Human Rights Activist)
Narendra Mohanty (‘Anti-Fabricated Case Campaign’)
Ranjana Padhi (Social Activist)
Sudhir Pattnaik
Sukru (Rationalist )
Lenin Mohanty
Abhiram Mallick and Rumita Kundu
Tuna Mallick (State Secretary, Adivasi Bharat Mahasabha)
Bichitra Patra (State President, TUCI)
P. Parvati (State Secretary, Odisha MGNREGA Workers’ Union)
Radharani Maharana (State Secretary, All India Revolutionary Women’s Organization – AIRWO)
Hena Barik (President, Basti Suraksha Manch)
Shankar Inquilab (State Secretary, Krantikari Krushak Sabha)
In the delegates’ session, the state political and organizational report alongside 4 central draft documents were presented and discussed. Comrade Shankar, Politburo member of the Party, presented the path of revolution in the Indian context in a compelling manner.
The conference concluded successfully with 7 resolutions passed. Notable among these were resolutions demanding that the Phulbani Medical College be named after Kandha rebellion hero Chakara Bisoyi, and demanding the immediate resignation of the Education Minister along with the withdrawal of all textbooks due to unforgivable errors in the syllabus.
The conference elected 11 member State Committee which elected elected Sankar Inquilab as its Secretary. The new state secretary expressed confidence that the new state committee will work dedicatedly to address every issue in the state and build popular movements. Politburo member and beloved slum-dwellers’ leader Comrade Pramila called for intensifying the struggle to ensure 600 square feet of land near homesteads for slum dwellers, thanking everyone who contributed to the success of the conference.
