The Bengal CPM is planning to take up a series of “alternative people’s projects” in the coming days as part of its attempts to re-establish its connection with the general public and emerge as a force in Bengal.
The move is planned at a time when the political contest in the state has assumed a bipolar nature where the Trinamul Congress and the BJP have emerged as the main contenders.
If sources in Alimuddin Street are to be believed, the party leadership is confident that if the planned programmes are rolled out properly, the CPM stands a chance to win back the support of people, which it has been losing steadily since the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
After a lot of debate on what to name the initiative, the comrades have zeroed in on a catchy name — Mission 360 degrees — for the programme, which will include setting up of coaching centres and health centres across the state and also playing a role in creating employment opportunities for the unemployed youths.
“Our policies are C-centric, meaning Citizen centric,” CPM state secretary Md Salim said.
“Providing education, healthcare and jobs is primarily the responsibility of the government.... Since they have failed to do so, we will be doing it for the people,” he said.
The inspiration behind these projects, according to sources, is the work done by the students and youth wings of the CPM, who referred to call themselves as Red Volunteers, during the pandemic. Many in the party believe that the reach out initiatives of the youths was well appreciated by the society and the time has come for the party to build on the initiative that the coalts launched.
The SFI, CPM’s student wing, is already running around 150 coaching centres across the state. Most of these centres are run for free, while in some cases a minimal amount of Rs 10 or Rs 20 is charged from a student every month.
While the number of such centres were 200 during lockdown, the party wants to expand the ambit by opening 10 such coaching centres and one health centre at each district over the next few months.
“These services will not be free, but can be availed at a very low cost. This is how some of the expenses of running these centres can also be covered,” Salim said.
He added that public donations and aid from retired professionals are being sought to fund these projects, to be run by party cadres capable of rendering the necessary services.
Meanwhile 11 young people are receiving formal phlebology training at Peoples’ Relief Committee’s clinic at Park Circus here. The training has been arranged by the DYFI —CPM’s youth wing — and it plans to undertake several other programmes to provide employment.
DYFI’s state president Dhrubajyoti Saha said that the organisation plans to buy sewing machines and distribute them amongst women who can take up sewing as a profession.
“We also plan to buy small land parcels to set up small factories. We had set up a sattu factory in Murshidabad in lockdown where several unemployed migrant labourers had received jobs,” Saha said, adding there are plans to work for tea gardens in North Bengal.
According to Salim, the idea is to build a network with the help of technology where a person in need of employment can be connected with the one who can offer a job. The ambit will be limited to small errands, he admitted, before adding that the initiative will surely generate income.
In Southern states such as Kerala, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the CPM has been following this model for a long time. In Kerala, where the CPM is in power, the party runs hospitals and tourism faculties, sources said.
