The 24th national congress of the Communist Party of India (CPI) begins on Friday in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh with a call to dislodge the (Narendra) Modi government and save the country by showcasing an alternative to the BJP.
Given their dominance in the current political scenario, the CPI wants the regional parties to come onto a single platform and defeat the BJP.
"Presenting an alternative to the BJP will be the main agenda of our discussions at the party congress. We need to save the country from the BJP and unless we dislodge the Modi regime, there is no salvation," CPI general secretary D Raja remarked on the eve of the congress.
It is after a gap of about three decades that Vijayawada – once a bastion of the Left parties – is playing host to the 97-year-old party's national congress.
The five-day congress will begin with a mass rally and meeting on October 14, followed by the national executive and the national council meetings, according to the timetable released by the party.
Besides CPI leaders from across India, Communist delegates from at least 17 foreign nations will attend the national congress, according to general secretary of the reception committee K Ramakrishna.
Left delegates from countries like Russia, China, Bangladesh, Nepal, Cuba, Greece, France, Turkey, Britain, and Portugal are expected to attend. The congress' inaugural session will be held at 11 am on October 15 where top leaders like Sitaram Yechuri (CPI(M)), Dipankar Bhattacharya (CPI-ML), and G Devarajan (All India Forward Bloc) will take part, along with their hosts.
The delegates session will be held on the afternoon of October 15 where the draft political resolution, political review report, and a report on the organisation will be presented. Day three is devoted to discussions on the reports presented the previous day.
Four party commissions will go into the political resolution, the political review report, the organisation and also the party programme and constitution on October 17 morning.
In the afternoon, the commissions' reports will be presented to the delegates session.
On October 18, the CPI congress will adopt various reports, followed by the election of Central Control Commission and the national council. The new national council will then elect the national executive and also the party general secretary.