Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 14 July 2025
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] has announced plans for a territory-wide agitation in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, targeting what it calls the failure of the BJP-led administration in addressing critical issues concerning power, roads, health, and shipping sectors in the Union Territory.
The announcement was made during the party’s State Secretariat and State Organising Committee meetings held at Shaheed Bhavan, Anarkali, Port Blair on July 12, 2025. The meetings were attended by K. Balakrishnan, Polit Bureau Member of CPI(M) and in-charge of party affairs in the A&N Islands.
According to the CPI(M), “Raj Nivas March” will be organized on August 22, 2025, in Sri Vijaya Puram, during which a memorandum highlighting the islanders’ grievances will be submitted to the Lieutenant Governor. The party also plans to carry out an extensive awareness campaign across the islands ahead of the march.
In his address to the State Organising Committee, K. Balakrishnan urged party leaders to implement the decisions of the 24th Party Congress, held in April this year in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. He emphasized the need to strengthen CPI(M) to “combat the rise of communal forces in the islands.”
The meetings also discussed party organizational matters and reviewed the functioning of class and mass organizations in the region. The Political and Organisational Report was presented by D. Ayyappan, State Secretary, CPI(M) A&N Islands. The meetings were presided over by Projit Kumar Sarkar, a State Secretariat Member.
During the deliberations, the party passed a resolution urging the Government of India to establish a Legislative Assembly in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands on the lines of the Puducherry model, advocating for greater public participation in governance.
The CPI(M) also expressed concern over what it described as “massive corruption, mismanagement, and nepotism” in the Andaman & Nicobar State Cooperative Bank Ltd., allegedly under Congress Party control. The party further claimed that BJP leaders in the islands and the central government have provided overt and covert support to the bank’s administration.
On his arrival at Sri Vijaya Puram Airport on July 12, K. Balakrishnan was welcomed by CPI(M) leaders and workers led by D. Ayyappan.
A separate meeting with party members from Port Blair town and rural South Andaman was held on July 13 at Shaheed Bhavan. Addressing the gathering, K. Balakrishnan shared insights from the CPI(M) Central Committee meeting held in New Delhi last month. He criticized the central government’s foreign policy, stating that India was “surrendering before US imperialism,” and accused the BJP-RSS of intensifying communal campaigns and promoting corporate-friendly neoliberal policies.
He also cited the nationwide general strike on July 9 as an example of growing resistance by workers and farmers against government policies.
The meeting was also addressed by senior leaders D. Laxman Rao and B. Chandrachoodan, and presided over by D. Ayyappan.
