Democracy under attack, Election Commission failing to ensure free polls, says CPI leader D. Raja in Kerala

Democracy is under attack in the country, Communist Party of India (CPI) general secretary D. Raja has said.

Inaugurating the delegates’ conference during the CPI State meet in Alappuzha, Kerala, on Wednesday (September 10, 2025), Mr. Raja, referring to Bihar, said that people’s right to vote was being “snatched away”.

“The Election Commission has failed to guarantee the right to vote for all eligible voters in Bihar. It can happen in any State. The Election Commission is a constitutional body. It should act as a neutral body and guarantee people’s right to vote. Unfortunately, it has failed to ensure free and fair elections,” he said.

Mr. Raja said that India as a nation was facing grave threats. “The right-wing forces have captured power. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is a fascist force. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is nothing but the political wing of the RSS. They are trying aggressively to transform India into a fascist State. They are working to change the character of the Indian State and make it a religion-based nation,” the CPI leader said.

Lambasting the ‘one nation one election’ idea, Mr. Raja said it was the philosophy of the RSS. “They do not recognise India as a multi-dimensional, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country. The RSS-BJP want to convert India into a one-dimensional country. India is a plural democracy, but they want to change it and dismantle all democratic structures. Under the Modi government, democracy and the Constitution are under threat. All secular democratic forces should come together to fight and defeat the BJP-RSS combine,” he said.

Calls for introspection

Noting that Left parties were shrinking as an electoral force in the country, the CPI leader called for “serious introspection on how to strengthen the communist movement”.

“We must strive for Left unity. Left parties should join hands and strengthen the communist movement. We are facing big challenges from right-wing fascist forces. We need to enlighten the people and project ourselves as role models and uphold communist values and morality,” he said.

Stating that the Indian economy was in bad shape, Mr. Raja said the Union government had been compelled to make changes to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate structure.

As many as 528 delegates, including 39 special invitees, are participating in the three-day conference. The party’s YouTube channel Kanal was launched by CPI National Secretariat member K. Narayana during the inaugural function.