The Decline of CPI in Bihar Politics: From Vanguard to the Margins

Shaleen Anand – Patna

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Once a formidable force in Bihar’s political landscape, the Communist Party of India (CPI) today finds itself struggling to stay relevant. The party that once shaped the discourse on agrarian struggles, social justice, and workers’ rights has gradually been reduced to a peripheral player, surviving largely through alliances and nostalgia. The reasons behind this decline are structural, ideological, and organizational, reflecting both the transformation of Bihar’s politics and the limitations of CPI’s own strategies.

Historically, CPI commanded a strong base among landless labourers, peasantry, and sections of the working class. The party’s role in farmers’ movements and its organizational roots in districts like Begusarai, Madhubani, Bhojpur, and parts of Seemanchal made it a credible champion of class-based struggles. However, the rise of caste-based politics in the late 1980s and 1990s eroded this influence. As Mandal politics reorganized Bihar’s political imagination around caste identities rather than class solidarity, CPI found its appeal increasingly restricted.

Another factor has been the party’s failure to reinvent itself in the face of changing socio-economic aspirations. While CPI continued to speak the language of old-style socialism and workers’ struggles, Bihar’s electorate; especially the youth shifted focus toward education, jobs, infrastructure, and governance. Parties like RJD and JD(U) tapped into caste coalitions, while newer entrants such as the BJP successfully merged identity politics with aspirational narratives. CPI’s inability to reframe its agenda around contemporary issues meant that it gradually lost resonance among younger and more aspirational voters.

Organizational weaknesses also compounded the problem. The cadre-driven model that once gave CPI strength was hollowed out over time. Migration of labour from Bihar reduced the traditional base of agricultural workers, while the party failed to expand its footprint into urban centres and professional classes. The lack of charismatic state-level leadership further prevented CPI from consolidating itself as a third force in Bihar politics.

Electoral alliances provided temporary visibility but at the cost of independent identity. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, CPI’s Kanhaiya Kumar briefly revived the party’s fortunes in Begusarai by mobilizing youth and students. Yet, his eventual exit from CPI into Congress underscored the difficulty of retaining talent within a party perceived as stagnant and marginal.

The cumulative effect is a steady decline, from double-digit representation in the Bihar Assembly during the 1962–1995, to negligible presence today. While CPI still commands respect in academic and activist circles, its electoral footprint remains faint.

The larger lesson of CPI’s decline is not merely the weakness of the Left, but the transformation of Bihar’s politics itself. In a state where identity and aspiration dominate the political vocabulary, class-based mobilization has lost its centrality. Unless CPI reinvents itself with a new vision that connects social justice with the aspirations of Bihar’s youth, its role in the state will remain symbolic rather than substantive.

For now, the CPI in Bihar stands as a reminder of a past era, when class struggle defined politics, and ideological conviction commanded loyalty. Today, it is the politics of caste arithmetic and governance promises that shape the future, leaving CPI caught in a struggle to remain relevant.

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