The Covid-19 might have put a full stop to party meetings but the communist parties in the country are now increasingly using technology to reach out as well as hold internal meetings using virtual platforms.
On Saturday, the CPI(M) Central Committee, the highest decision-making body of the party, met in the virtual world through a video conferencing tool developed using free software by IT experts aligned with the party while the CPI national leadership held a meeting through the video app 'Zoom'.
This was the first meeting of the CPI(M) Central Committee after the Covid-19 national lockdown. It was decided that central committee members of a particular state would converge in the state committee offices for the virtual meeting.
CPI(M) leaders said the online video conferencing tool was developed two months ago for internal party meetings. Two Polit Bureau meetings were held using the in-house tool during the lockdown.
They said the tool developed by the CPI(M) for internal use is secure and has robust privacy settings.
The two-day meeting, which will end on Sunday, is discussing the national political situation, the government's handling of Covid-19 and other developments.
Separately, the National Secretariat of the CPI held a meeting on popular video app 'Zoom' to discuss the constitutional and political crisis in Rajasthan.
Earlier, the Congress Working Committee held meetings on Zoom. While the CPI(M) Sitaram Yechury held press conferences using Facebook, the Congress was holding regular press briefings using Zoom.
Yechury and other CPI(M) leaders also participated in webinars as well as digital public addresses on several occasions.
BJP President J P Nadda also regularly held meetings with party workers through video conferencing.