CPI General Secretary D. Raja at a press conference in Vijayawada on Sunday. | Photo credit: GN Rao
Following the NDA’s landslide victory in the Bihar Assembly elections, Communist Party of India (CPI) General Secretary D. Raja Mahagathbandhan has called on other secular parties to introspect and make course corrections to mount a stronger challenge in the upcoming polls, especially in West Bengal, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared as his next political target.
Speaking at a Meet The Press program organized by the Press Club in Vijayawada on November 16, 2025 (Sunday), Mr. Raja said that the BJP and the RSS would try to extend their influence in Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well, though their attempts to reach out to certain regional parties had met with resistance.
He described the Bihar result as a “disappointing verdict” for INDIA’s opposition bloc and stressed the need for mutual accommodation between the alliance partners, especially on seat-sharing. The absence of proper coordination, he said, often turned collective efforts into victims of internal discord. He added that leftist parties must also introspect and strengthen unity within their ranks.
Demanding comprehensive electoral reforms, Mr. Raja questioned the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI). He criticized the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ahead of the Bihar elections, saying it imposed unnecessary hardship on voters by demanding more documents. He also drew attention to discrepancies between the number of voters and polled votes.
The CPI leader opposed the process for appointing election commissioners, saying the process had lost its neutrality after the Chief Justice of India was removed from the selection panel. He condemned the introduction of electoral bonds and claimed that the BJP remains the biggest recipient of corporate funding in a system that lacks transparency. Citing his party’s opposition to the scheme in the Rajya Sabha, he reiterated that the unchecked power of money undermines democracy and called for a remedial move to make elections state-funded – an issue he said was rarely discussed in serious forums.
Mr. Raja also said that Parliament should sit for more days to allow for proper discussion on issues of public interest and pointed out that the upcoming winter session would last for barely a fortnight.
He expressed concern over growing social polarization and accused the BJP-RSS nexus of promoting a nexus between “communalism and crony capitalism”, which he said threatened India’s secular and democratic fabric.
The CPI leader further questioned PM Modi’s “silence” on US President Donald Trump’s unilateral actions and called the US leader “behaving like a world dictator”.
Taking aim at the Centre’s economic policies, Mr Raja said Mr Modi’s growth claims contrasted with the weakening rupee, which weakened to 88 against the US dollar, and the government’s drive to privatize public sector enterprises. He warned that the Visakhapatnam steel plant may meet the same fate as other PSUs handed over to private corporations.
“Even Hitler was elected to power, but his actions led to his downfall,” he noted, noting that electoral victories cannot justify authoritarian or majoritarian rule.
Admitting that there was a gap between the CPI’s ideological framework and the evolving aspirations of the people, Mr. Raja said the party was working to bridge the divide.
Published – 16 Nov 2025 19:10 IST
