State comes under Red radar

New Delhi: Maharashtra has come under the Red radar. The CPI(M) has identified Maharashtra as one of the states outside Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura,  where conditions are ripe for its growth.

The just concluded Politburo meeting discussed the prospects of the party’s expansion outside its traditional stronghold. A paper on organisational matters pinpointed Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu as the best states for expansion, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand.

The party’s central committee meeting slated for September end will discuss strategy to strengthen its base in these states, sources said. As regards Maharashtra, the party’s assessment is that not just the BJP, but personality-oriented regional parties such as Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party are on the decline while the Congress is facing the anti-incumbency factor.

With people looking for alternatives, the CPI(M) with its “strident aam admi” campaign can make inroads, said a senior party leader.

The party also feels that an expanding “manufacturing” sector in the state with a huge “working class” population is an ideal ground for it to expand. The comrades are also making concerted efforts to woo the huge Muslim population in the state by championing their cause.

The CPI(M)’s consistent anti-US and anti-Bush stand has gone down well with the Muslim community across the country. In the recent Assembly elections in Kerala, it managed to secure minority votes even in a pre-dominantly Muslim district like Malapuram.

The party has also decided to send a two-member “fact-finding” delegation to Malegaon in the wake of the bomb blasts. The party has also been vocal in speaking for the distressed farmers of Vidarbha.