To distract people’s attention from the destruction the Narendra Modi government has caused, its propagandists like Union ministers have started threatening the masses. One Union minister has said that if Narendra Modi is not re-elected prime minister the country will face anarchy. It is true that the forces behind this regime particularly the RSS and its various front organisations are quite capable of causing anarchy, but the people of the country are much stronger than them to foil their conspiracy.

People are determined to oust this regime from power. People have shown this repeatedly during the past one and half year when the BJP has been defeated in its supposedly strongholds.

It lost power in the three states where it was ruling for one a half decade. It is happening in local elections as well. But it does not mean that BJP particularly the Modi-Shah duo will accept the defeat easily. It was backed by all means by the combination of the corporate capital tool of the international finance capital, the worst segment of right reactionary forces and protagonists of majoritarianism including the dirtiest communal casteist forces during the 2014 poll campaign. It smacked of fascism and had used every opportunity to discredit and destroy healthy democratic traditions.

The latest revelations about hacking of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) has to be seen in the background of the manoeuvring of these economic and political forces, a section of which continues to be with Modi-Shah duo that have never endorsed democratic set up of the country. At one or the other time, almost each and every national political party including senior leaders of the BJP have expressed doubts on the EVM. Even today, except the ruling clique, the other five national political parties have demanded return to ballot paper for free and fair elections.

Though opposition parties have constituted a committee on EVM but that is not sufficient. Time is less and all recognised national and regional parties should unitedly force the CEC to abandon the EVM and revert to ballot paper as major democracies world over like USA, Germany and Japan have done. Without it the people’s confidence in electoral process cannot be restored.

It is true that most of the non-BJP parties are ready to join hands to oust the present regime from power. During the Kolkata rally over two dozen parties expressed their desire. But that is not enough. Former prime minister HD Deve Gowda was right when he said that without a socio-economic alternative programme, no combination will succeed in ousting Modi-Shah duo from power.

This also explains why we have been repeatedly asserting that there cannot be a country-wide combination to fight the present regime. Alliances have to be worked out on the basis of objective political situation in a state giving due consideration to the political co-relation of forces.

On both counts, the adoption of a viable socio-economic alternative programme and building state-specific alliances, the Left has to play crucial role. By now, it is clear that certain small and regional parties, like 2014 are ready to become tool of certain vested interests including the capitalists to marginalize the Left. This conspiracy has to be understood and foiled.

Without focussing on real socioeconomic issues and the destruction to basic socio-economic structure caused by Modi-Shah duo masses cannot be moved. Various segments of masses, particularly the working people, the workers, farmers, farm labourers, employees including defence employees, youth and students and intellectuals are already on the streets. The real problem is to coordinate these movements and explain the common thread that can unite all these segments.

Simultaneously, the Left has also to counter the distracting issues which have emotional and sentimental appeal. One such issue is to destroy the very\ concept of reservation in employment and education to socially and educationally backward sections of our society. Some people are becoming victims of the phrases like “economically backwards” forgetting that reservation is not meant for “poverty alieviation” but for undoing social injustice that have been perpetuated in our society for centuries. These are complicated issues but the Left has to face and counter them. (IPA Service)