The CPI(M)’s 24th Party Congress in Madurai earlier this month unfolded like a tense drama—red flags waving, voices rising, and a palpable unease about the Left’s dwindling clout in India. Held in Tamil Nadu’s historic communist hub, the event sought to map a revival after years of electoral bruises and ideological soul-searching.

Sitaram Yechury’s death in 2024 left a gaping hole, filled by M.A. Baby’s election as General Secretary—a choice signalling renewal but shadowed by the weight of legacy. Baby, a seasoned Kerala leader with a literary bent, took the stage vowing to “move toward the masses," yet Madurai exposed fissures that could define the Left’s fate.

The draft political resolution slammed the BJP’s Hindutva-corporate axis as “neo-fascist," a fiery call that rallied the faithful but reignited old debates over relevance. Once a powerhouse with 43 Lok Sabha seats in 2004, the CPI(M) now limps along with five, a shadow of its past. Kerala holds firm, Tamil Nadu flickers with potential, but Bengal—lost in 2011 after 34 years—haunts like a spectre.

The Left’s legacy of land reforms and labour rights clashes with its shrinking appeal, caught between urban intellectuals and a rural base it struggles to reclaim. Analysts point to a party at odds with India’s shifting tides—caste, religion, and regionalism often drown out its class-war cries.

In Madurai, calls for Left unity and grassroots resurgence rang loud, but the mood was introspective. Baby’s leadership offers a glimmer—younger cadres cheered a 75-year age cap sidelining graybeards—but can he steer this ship? As India’s political centre drifts rightward, the CPI(M) faces a stark choice: evolve or fade.

This piece unpacks four faultlines from Madurai, probing whether the Left can rise again or slip into history’s footnotes.

M.A. Baby’s ascent to General Secretary in Madurai marks a pivotal shift for the CPI(M), blending hope with lingering doubts. A Kerala stalwart known for his cultural finesse and decades in the Politburo, Baby stepped into Yechury’s shoes with a........

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