At a time mainstream Left parties CPI and CPM have seen their influence wane in Bihar’s Mandal heartland, the CPI-ML (Liberation) still commands influence across large pockets.

Seen as the Mahagathbandhan’s “most valuable asset”, its cadre base helped the alliance sweep 20 of 22 seats in south Bihar in the 2020 state polls. This time, the CPI-ML is contesting 19 seats.

In an interview with The Telegraph on November 2, CPI-ML general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya — an Indian Statistical Institute alumnus who traded a promising career for activism in the late 1970s — talks about the BJP’s drive to seize “complete power” in Bihar and the road ahead for the Opposition.

Q. What has changed since the 2020 Assembly polls?

Bhattacharya: Two major things. One, the SIR — a disruptive and unprecedented exercise, with Bihar being used as the testing ground. And two, the massive money transfer — the one-time ₹10,000 dole to over a crore women. India hasn’t seen anything like it before.

These are the government’s big changes. But for the people, the desire for change existed even in 2020. The NDA scraped through then, by just a few seats and a few thousand votes. The last five years have only deepened public discontent, which is why the government is trying to confuse people through the SIR and cash transfers.

The BJP’s message is clear: ‘If you can, stop us — or we’ll do another Maharashtra.’ What they did with the Shiv Sena, they’re doing with the JDU. What they did to Eknath Shinde, they’re doing to Nitish Kumar. But Bihar can also choose the Jharkhand path, where people rejected the BJP’s divisive narrative. I believe Bihar will do the same.

Q. Isn’t Nitish Kumar still the centrepiece of this election, not the BJP?

Bhattacharya: The BJP, not Nitish, is the real issue. He’s been the face, but it’s
the BJP that has set the agenda and blocked reform — from land to education. Nitish has long implemented BJP policies.

Now, the BJP wants complete control. Its politics in Bihar is not just communal but also feudal. Look at their 101 candidates: not one Muslim, and nearly half from the upper castes, who make up only about 15 per cent of the population. They’ve effectively reserved tickets for the privileged — denying representation to the underprivileged.

This exposes the BJP’s feudal mindset. The OBCs, EBCs and Dalits are disenchanted. Neither their corporate agenda — ‘everything for Adani’ — nor the communal rhetoric of ghuspetiya (infiltrators) is working. Even the SIR hasn’t identified a single Bangladeshi or outsider.

Q. Why then isn’t there visible resentment over the deletion of names from voter rolls?

Bhattacharya: Because Bihar resisted hard. We limited disenfranchisement to around 5 per cent. But even within that, the exclusions are skewed — more women, Muslims, migrant workers and deprived sections. That anger will show in voting.

Q. You’ve blamed the BJP for blocking land reforms. Yet, the Mahagathbandhan manifesto barely mentions them.

Bhattacharya: Land reform features partially. Redistribution wasn’t foregrounded, but we’ve promised housing rights for the landless and tenancy rights for sharecroppers — 5 decimals of land in rural areas and 3 decimals in urban areas for shelter. The landless were excluded from the PM Awas Yojana because they had no land. Our focus this time is employment. The BJP trivialises the issue by talking about ‘income from reels’.

Q. How do you view the rise of small, caste-based parties? Can they be trusted to stay in an anti-BJP front?

Bhattacharya: Caste is a reality. When dominant castes rule, no one complains, but when smaller castes assert, it’s labelled ‘too much caste’. These parties arise from assertion, not division. Take Mukesh Sahani — he came up as the son of a Mallah, joined the BJP, saw their real face, and is now with us. Even the CPI-ML’s base is among Dalits and EBCs — our ideology lives through that social base.

Q. But Sahani could switch sides again?

Bhattacharya: In politics, nothing’s guaranteed. Look at Nitish Kumar.

Q. The BJP keeps invoking the ‘Jungle Raj’ of the Lalu-Rabri years. Doesn’t that hurt your alliance?

Bhattacharya: ‘Jungle Raj’ is BJP propaganda. They want people to look 20 years back and not at today’s failures. If that narrative truly resonated, they wouldn’t have to work so hard to push it. Their obsession with Nehru and Lalu shows they’re avoiding accountability for the present.

Q. What is CPI-ML’s value addition to the Mahagathbandhan?

Bhattacharya: We are the alliance’s most reliable partner. Our commitment is unquestionable. Post-election, if anyone wonders about loyalty, they can count on the CPI-ML. People trust us to ensure that promises made in the manifesto — even if voiced by Tejashwi — are actually implemented.

Q. How do you view Prashant Kishor and his Jan Suraaj Party?

Bhattacharya: PK’s project is rapidly unravelling. It’s a corporate venture masquerading as a political movement. In a poor state, he’s parachuted in with a resource-rich campaign. Early idealists who saw him as an AAP-like alternative are leaving. His brand value is fading — the party may have money, but he has exposed himself.