Revolutionary Communist Party of India

Revolutionary Communist Party of India ভারতের বিপ্লবী কমিউনিস্ট পার্টি
Founder	Saumyendranath Tagore
Founded	3 September 1934
Ideology	Communism Socialism Marxism-Leninism Social Engineering
Political position	Left-wing
Colours	Red
ECI Status	State Party[1]
Alliance	Left Front
Election symbol
Politics of India Political parties Elections

Revolutionary Communist Party of India (RCPI) is a political party in India. The party was founded by Saumyendranath Tagore in 1934, breaking away from the Communist Party of India (CPI). During the period 1934–1938 the name of the party was Communist League. The name RCPI was taken at the third party congress in 1938.

The party has a very limited presence in West Bengal and Assam.

History

20th century

RCPI were against the new Popular Frontist politics of CPI and the cooperation with the Indian National Congress. During the Second World War RCPI supported the Quit India Movement, and a large part of the leadership was imprisoned.

After the war RCPI started organizing soviets (panchayats) amongst peasants and workers, as a first step towards the Indian revolution. Different views on the revolutionary what led to a split in 1948, and Pannanlal Dasgupta (who was general secretary of RCPI during the war years) broke away and formed his own RCPI: Dasgupta advocated armed struggle. The leadership of Dasgupta's party was later on taken over by Sudhir Kumar.

In 1960 the Trotskyist Revolutionary Workers Party merged with the RCPI of Kumar. In the state elections in West Bengal the RCPI of Kumar won several seats. But when the RCPI of Kumar supported Jawaharlal Nehru's line in the war against China, many of the leading Trotskyists pulled out of RCPI.

Ahead of the 1967 elections the RCPI of Tagore had been registered under the name Bharater Biplabi Communist Party (RCPI in Bengali) whereas Kumar's party had been registered under the name RCPI.

What later happened to the RCPI of Tagore is unclear. If one studies electoral results from 1971 it appears that he switched over to Kumar's party,^{[note 1]} at the same time as the BBCP lived on. The registered name BBCP disappeared in 1972, then returned in 1977. According to Alexander (see below) Tagore's party was split in two, with one led by Anandi Das. But earlier Anandi Das had been part of Kumar's RCPI.

During the 1980s Kumar's RCPI participated in elections as independent candidates. The party was split in two, and in 1991 West Bengal state assembly elections two RCPIs contested in the Hansan constituency. RCPI (Rasik Bhatt) and RCPI (Gouranga Sit). Later RCPI(GS) seems to have disappeared. Also the parties formed out of Tagore's RCPI seems to have disappeared. RCPI (Rasik Bhatt) is most likely RCPI group still around.

21st century

In the city of Howrah RCPI won a seat in the municipal council polls in 2003 (In total the Left Front had put up two RCPI-candidates in the city). In the 2008 Panchayet elections, it won three panchayet seats and a zilla parishad seat in Nadia. The party has retained its lone ward in Howrah municipal corporation elections in 2008. In the 2010 municipal polls, RCPI contested ward no.87 in Kolkata as a LF partner. Its candidate was Simki Sengupta. It also contested a seat at Gayeshpur in Nadia district. It retained its seat at Gayeshpur municipality. RCPI's headquarters is at Bhawanipore, Kolkata.

The party had a base in the Shantipore constituency in Nadia district of West Bengal for a long time. The seat was represented by veteran leader late Bimalananda Mukherjee many times. In 2006, Communist Party of India (Marxist) won this seat from RCPI's quota and the party was left with only the Hasan assembly segment in Birbhum district to contest with as a LF constituent.

In the 2011 West Bengal assembly election, the RCPI contested the Hansan (Vidhan Sabha constituency) and the Santipur (Vidhan Sabha constituency) as a Left Front partner. Both its candidates lost the election.

RCPI had participated in various mass-movements along with the other left parties during the Congres rule in Bengal.

The party has little influence left in Assam. In 2009, Raj Kumar Dowara and Ambu Bora its two candidates in Jorhat and Guhawati, received 5642 and 7477 votes respectively.

It contested both Santipur and Hansan seats in 2011 assembly polls as a LF partner, losing both of them.

Basthura Kalyan Parishad (Refugee Welfare Council) was an RCPI-related (unclear which faction) organization active in camps for refugees from East Pakistan who came to West Bengal after Partition in 1947. RCPI was especially active in the camps near Nadia.

The party Real Communist Party of India, which existed around 1991, was most probably an RCPI-splinter group.

RCPI held its 13th party congress at Howrah in 2012.

Election results

Election results listed by registered party name. Only RCPI-factions which were registered are listed. Winning candidates are marked by *.

The Lok Sabha election results of 1951 mentions one RCPI (registered as a national party), but it is unclear which faction it was (most probably RCPI (Pannanlal)).

Footnotes

External links

• Tagore, Soumyendranath (1901-1974)
• Trotskyism in India by Robert Alexander

1. ↑ "List of Political Parties and Election Symbols main Notification Dated 18.01.2013" (PDF). India: Election Commission of India. 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2013.