CPI(ML) Liberation to use education reform efforts to reach young voters in Bihar, UP

CPI-ML General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya. File | Photo credit: ANI

CPI(ML) Liberation is set to launch a month-long campaign seeking reforms in the education sector, starting with a public meeting in Patna on September 6. It will highlight issues ranging from inadequate school and college infrastructure to concerns over the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP).

Focusing primarily on Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, party activists will travel extensively across the region to reach out to young voters ahead of the state’s assembly elections scheduled for early next year.

Party general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said the focus on the two states stemmed from what he described as the continued neglect of the education sector by BJP-led governments.

“On paper, every panchayat in Bihar has a school up to class 12. To achieve this, several primary and secondary schools have been modernized. However, modernization often exists only on paper, with schools operating from four classes and lacking boundary walls, libraries and other basic infrastructure,” he said.

Mr. Bhattacharya said the campaign was building on the momentum created during the recent student protests at Jantar Mantar. He noted that a significant number of protest participants were from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and that the campaign was an extension of the efforts of the party’s student wing, the All India Students’ Association (AISA).

Public meetings

As part of its outreach in Uttar Pradesh, CPI(ML) Liberation plans to hold public meetings in Prayagraj, Varanasi, Azamgarh, Gorakhpur, Ayodhya and Meerut. Party officials fear that the state administration may cancel the permit at the last minute.

On the opposition’s strategy in Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Bhattacharya said the Samajwadi Party as the main opposition force and its ally the Congress will have to play a central role in challenging the BJP government.

“A broader coalition that includes Left parties is necessary to mount an effective electoral challenge to the BJP,” he said.

Mr. Bhattacharya also claimed that AISA’s organizational footprint has expanded significantly since the Jantar Mantar protests, with new units being established in cities and towns where the student organization previously had little or no representation, including Mumbai.

The campaign will conclude on October 5 with a public meeting at Jadavpur University in West Bengal.

Published – 04 Sep 2026 23:15 IST