LS polls: CPI(M) banks on youth & social media for campaigns

In an attempt to revive its fortunes, a beleaguered CPI(M) in Bengal is banking on fresh faces ahead of Lok Sabha elections by taking the help of social media.

The main purpose of the move is to attract more youngsters into its fold.

A party that opposed the entry of computers in Bengal is now resorting to social media only to keep its existence intact, a leader of the ruling Trinamool Congress said.

The Bengal CPI(M) is keen on hiring youngsters who are experts in social media campaigns and those who are ready to dedicate themselves for party work without having ambitions of monetary gain.

An advertisement was floated by the CPI(M) in social media welcoming like-minded youngsters. The move of the CPI(M) to induct the digital workforce by floating advertisements in social media has been interpreted as a “corporate-like-approach”

by the party.

Good result seems to appear as a distant dream for the state CPI(M) and the party top brass is therefore keen on restructuring the organization in the grass root level ahead of Lok Sabha polls with young generations being inducted into the party fold.

Top CPI(M) leaders in their extended state committee meeting in Howrah recently discussed how to strengthen the organization in order.

A 30-page report was distributed among the workers in the meeting that highlighted the importance of revitalizing the organisation at the booth level.

After the Lok Sabha election in 2019, the CPI(M) leaders admitted in public that its voters shifted allegiance to the BJP in a state like Bengal which the Left Front ruled from 1977 to 2011. This helped the BJP win 18 seats, marking the party’s best-ever performance in Bengal.

This was the result of an extreme polarisation between BJP and TMC.

CPI(M) leaders are planning a complete overhaul of the organization at the grassroots level and also to assess several issues including the incidents of vote transfer. It is never easy for the CPI(M) that has lost its support base to catch up with the ruling Trinamool Congress in Bengal as the latter has a robust digital presence, believe the

political observers.