MA Baby on Left’s fall, fightback, Bihar shocker, SIR and Kerala’s 2026 battle | Interview

The Federal spoke to MA Baby, Politburo member and general secretary of the CPI(M), in this Capital Beat episode on the Left’s sharp electoral decline, the controversial Bihar verdict, and whether the Kerala Left government can overcome anti-incumbency to win a third straight term.

With the Left reduced to just four MPs and performing poorly in Bihar, what hope do you see for the Left movement today?

First of all, there is a small correction to the Bihar numbers. Though not very significant, it is important. The CPI(M) has one member in the Bihar Assembly and the CPI(ML) has two. I am not sure whether all the results have been finally declared, but together that is three, not two. It is marginal, but still a 50 per cent increase over what you mentioned.

As Left forces, we do consider the importance and value of representation in elected bodies – whether in the Rajya Sabha, Lok Sabha, or the state assemblies. There is definitely a decline in our electoral performance. That is a reality we have to face.

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However, when it comes to political movements – mobilising the toiling masses, the marginalised sections, and giving voice to the neglected, oppressed, and exploited – our role remains crucial in a way no other political force in the country is equipped to play. People often ask, “What is the future of the Left?” My counter-question is: what is the future without the Left? Of course, the Left has to strengthen itself, and we are in that process.

Many had hoped your elevation as general secretary would bring change. How far have you travelled in reshaping the Left’s political imprint?

The kind of change people expected is not dependent on an individual or a small group of comrades. Yes, the orientation given by the Politburo, Central Committee, or state committees is important, and individual comrades play an important role.

But the most important factor is how, as a political party, we engage with the real issues of the people. In the Bihar elections, for example, we tried to flag unemployment, lack of growth, and the plight of marginalised sections.

At the same time, more than a crore women were given a substantial amount of money. In a state like Bihar, Rs 10,000 coming into a woman’s account is not a small thing. It did make a certain impact. We were never against extending material assistance to people; they are entitled to it. Our objection is that people’s entitlements were given in a way that looked like an election-time bribe, after long neglect, generating illusions just before voting.

Are you saying the women’s cash transfer scheme functioned as an electoral bribe?

I would say not only this Rs 10,000 – people from poor and marginalised sections are entitled to even more. Our point is that their entitlement was given as if it were a bribe.

If this support had been part of a continuous programme of the government – empowering women, making them entrepreneurs, giving them training and upskilling – we could understand it as a serious policy. But when elections are around the corner and suddenly this money is transferred, after negligence for a long period, it appears very much like a bribe.

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Along with this, there was misuse of government machinery, very carefully-engineered caste combinations, communalisation of society, and the use of muscle power and money power. Huge sums were spent during the elections. Taken together, these raise doubts about the genuineness of the Bihar verdict.

When you say you doubt the genuineness of the Bihar verdict, are you suggesting the elections were rigged?

I would not say they were totally rigged. I want to be objective. Even supporters of the INDIA bloc, like Yogendra Yadav, who is also a sociologist, have looked at this. He has underlined the overall organisational and political strength that the BJP, Janata Dal (United), and other forces marshalled during the election.

On top of that, there was the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. It was targetted at marginalised, downtrodden sections, minorities, and women. Women faced this targetting, and later the same women were presented with cash transfers. So, the money transfer, misuse of machinery, caste and communal engineering – all of this made the field highly uneven.

We have also seen at the micro level how the Union home minister intervened and forced certain independent candidates to withdraw. There was a double engine operating – central government and state government – not for development, but for subverting a genuinely democratic electoral process. Everything taken together, I have serious doubts about the genuineness of the Bihar verdict.

Given this massive election machinery of the BJP and NDA, what options do the Opposition and especially the Left have?

Even some renowned newspapers have picked up our CPI(M) communiqué issued on 16 November, after our meeting on 13–14 November. We did not reduce everything to electoral malpractice. That has been noticed, for instance, by newspapers like the Deccan Herald.

We said clearly that each political party in the Mahagathbandhan and the INDIA bloc in Bihar needs to seriously, dispassionately, and sincerely introspect about its own role. Did we really put all our energy and strength into the campaign? The fact is that some constituents of the Mahagathbandhan contested against each other.

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Even though this happened in only 11 seats out of over 250, before the eyes of the people it looked very negative and irresponsible. When such a huge threat with neo-fascist tendencies controls the ruling machinery, people expect all INDIA parties to fight together – not against each other. So, each party must introspect. Then, at some stage, the INDIA bloc leadership must also meet and reflect. We are one constituent of the INDIA bloc, and we accept that responsibility.

Could the CPI(M) have contested more seats in Bihar and improved its own tally?

For the CPI(M), whether we contest a large number of seats or not, the more important question is defeating the BJP and its allies. We give utmost importance to that larger objective.

Even in the case of the CPI and Congress, there were a few seats where candidates clashed. We were willing to contest only four seats. Perhaps because of that, other parties may have shown some consideration and not filed nominations against us in those constituencies. I do not know the exact reasons.

But our central concern is not the number of seats for the CPI(M) alone. Our concern is whether we are doing everything possible to stop the advance of the BJP and its allies.

Kerala is now seen as the Left’s last stronghold. Can the LDF beat anti-incumbency and win a third term?

You said our government is “in power” in Kerala. I would say our government is in office. There is hardly any real power left with state governments. Governors are used and misused to interfere with state governments. The financial powers of states are being systematically assaulted and confiscated by the Centre.

Political authority is also being centralised. Central schemes and centrally-designed plans are imposed on states. If we do not sign memorandums of understanding agreeing to fall in line with these dictates, funds that states are constitutionally entitled to are denied. And if we go to court with complaints, we know how the Supreme Court and other courts are behaving.

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So opposition-led state governments are being strangled financially and administratively. Transcending all this, overcoming all these challenges, the performance of the LDF government in Kerala, led by Comrade Pinarayi Vijayan, is beyond comparison.

What makes you say the LDF’s performance in Kerala is 'beyond comparison'?

Kerala is the only and first state in India where extreme poverty could be fully eradicated. Some people ask, “Who said there is no poverty in Kerala?” We never claimed that. We said we are attempting to put an end to extreme poverty, and there are statistics to support that.

When other Indian states have extreme poverty affecting 15–30 per cent of their population, Kerala had less than 1 per cent extreme poverty. That is a very strong foundation to begin with. This situation is not the result of the Pinarayi Vijayan government alone.

It is also the product of Kerala’s social reform movement, the first EMS Namboodiripad government of 1957 with land reforms and education reforms, and the empowerment of women. Women in Kerala go for higher studies at a far higher rate than in any other Indian state. When women are educated, family life changes. An educated woman strengthens the entire family.

Kerala is now facing the SIR exercise on voter rolls. With BLOs under pressure and even deaths reported elsewhere, do you see this as a tool to cut into the Left vote bank?

The BJP government at the Centre will not leave any stone unturned in trying to bring down the forward-marching Left movement. On that, you are right. SIR has already created immense pressure on Booth Level Officers in many states.

But the organisational and political strength of the Left in Kerala, and the political consciousness of Kerala society as a whole, will ensure that the usual machinations of the BJP – which may succeed elsewhere – will not work so easily in Kerala.

We are fully aware of the dangers. At the same time, we have confidence in the people of Kerala and in the depth of democratic awareness there.

Some warn that the Bihar 'vote theft' model could be replicated in Kerala and other states. Do you see that as a real danger?

I do not fully buy that narrative. Even in Bihar, without the Janata Dal (United), the BJP would not have performed in this way. In the Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi and the BJP were defeated in terms of their earlier dominance. With the support of leaders like Chandrababu Naidu and Nitish Kumar, Modi is managing today.

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The 2024 election has already proved that neither Modi nor the BJP nor the RSS are invincible. People can defeat them. That lesson is already there before the people of India.

So, yes, there are threats and manipulations, but there is also the capacity of the people to resist and defeat them when they are organised and conscious.

The Left is often accused of ideological rigidity and not adapting to new realities or youth aspirations. Are you ready to change with the times?

Your question is very relevant and important. To be a working-class party – a party of those who work – we must first clarify what “working class” means. Some people think only of a railway worker, an auto-rickshaw driver, or a construction worker. But you and I are also workers.

You are working from a newsroom. I am working as a political activist. When we speak of a society of the working class, we only keep out the exploiting classes. Everyone else is part of a broad working people.

Yes, we have to change with the times. We are trying to do so. At the same time, there are friends of ours who are hardcore Left sympathisers who criticise us for diluting Marxist-Leninist ideology. You are asking whether we are changing enough. They are asking whether we are changing too much and blurring the difference between Left and Right. So we face criticism from both sides.

But if you do not change, doesn’t the Left face an existential crisis, especially after losing West Bengal and Tripura?

We do have to change with the times – on that, we are on the same page. At the same time, many things we do are not sufficiently recognised by society or the media.

We remain a national party. As far as I know, there are only five national political parties. Ours is the only national political party that opposed the electoral bonds scheme – a scheme that legalised corruption and institutionalised the link between billionaires and parties that serve them. We did not just oppose it; we refused to accept even a single rupee through electoral bonds and took the matter to the Supreme Court, which struck down the scheme as unconstitutional.

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We were also offered the prime ministership at one point. Jyoti Basu was proposed as prime minister. Due to political, ideological, and other reasons, we declined that offer. People say every party is after power. Here was a party that turned down the chance to make our own leader prime minister.

These are just two examples of how we are different from other parties. Whether we have three LDF governments or only one, we will stand by the people and carry the flag of the working class. The problem is that we have not communicated these differences effectively to the masses.

So communication is the weakest link for the CPI(M), especially in Kerala?

I fully agree that we are found wanting in reaching the masses. In the past, even our general secretary Sitaram Yechury pointed out that we did not have a large social media presence. That has improved somewhat, but it is still not enough.

We need to reflect seriously on our communication strategy and correct ourselves in this sphere. We must be able to convey our achievements and our distinct political line to people in a language and through platforms they use every day.

This is a weakness we openly acknowledge. Correcting it is essential if we want our work – especially in a state like Kerala under the LDF – to be fully understood and appreciated by the people.

You have sharply criticised the Supreme Court’s advisory opinion on the Presidential Reference about governors and bills. How do you see this verdict?

The judgement delivered on April 8 earlier this year was an extraordinary judgement dealing with an extraordinary situation, where important legislation affecting people’s lives was being indefinitely blocked by governors. It fixed a three-month time limit for governors – and even for the President – to take a decision on bills.

That April 8 judgement is the kind of verdict Justice VR Krishna Iyer or Justice O Chinnappa Reddy would have delivered. I salute the judges who gave that verdict.

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Now, the Constitution Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India has given an opinion with a lot of technicalities. People say it is not a judgement, but an opinion and advice by the Supreme Court. I agree with that description. But this opinion effectively nullifies the spirit of the April 8 judgement.

Whenever states now go to court over a governor’s behaviour, the court may be far less willing to intervene. I am shocked by this opinion. There is only a small “fig leaf” in it: the sentence that in glaring circumstances of prolonged, unexplained, and indefinite inaction, the court can issue a limited mandamus to the governor to discharge his function.

What larger danger do you see in the governor–state government conflict after this opinion?

Under British rule, there were governor-generals. Today, under what I call “Modi Raj”, governors behave like governor-generals of the British Raj. Yet these governors are only appointed officers of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. If their “pleasure” is withdrawn, the governors are jobless.

Will an elected President of India – chosen by MPs and MLAs – hold on to a law passed by Parliament? No, he or she will not. But appointed officers are now sitting over legislation passed by elected state governments.

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In Jammu and Kashmir, there was a meeting to review the security situation. The elected Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir was not allowed to enter the meeting. An appointed Lieutenant Governor presided over it, keeping the elected Chief Minister out. These authoritarian trends, with neo-fascist tendencies, will fray national integration in our country.

Article 200 says the governor has to act “as soon as possible”. Instead, when the state government is not to the liking of the Centre, governors are behaving as if the phrase is “as late as possible”. That cannot be accepted. I hope people understand the gravity of this situation.

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