CPM to hold 30,000 family meetings

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a bid to strengthen and consolidate ties with people in the wake of recent electoral reverses and alarming  erosion in its traditional vote bank, the CPM is making a desperate bid to reconnect with people in a big way.

The party plans to hold 30,000 family meetings over a period of 10 days starting from Saturday. It has set an “aam admi” agenda for the family meetings which would be held in all districts.

The three major issues to be discussed at these meetings are: increasing prices of essential commodities, crash in prices of agriculture crops and cash crops, and open loot of fish wealth by corporates.

The CPM has been facing criticism from within and outside over the style of functioning of leadership and failure to connect with the common man. In a way, the family meetings also being held to reach out to homemakers bring the latter on board over issues like price rise.

The leadership believes that at a time when BJP is making inroads into its traditional support base and trying to woo communities which have traditionally backed the Left, the party has no other option but to unite people on their burning issues.

Such a campaign would help in countering BJP’s sectarian agenda which could pose a serious threat to communal harmony in the state.

The family meetings will culminate in a massive people’s resistance on August 11. A short film, "Chenkanal", will also be screened at the family meetings. The people participating in these family meetings would also present cultural programmes to add colour.

The CPM leadership claimed that the family meetings and people’s resistance would mark the beginning of a sustained stir against the wrong policies of the state government and the centre.