With the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections nearing, the CPI(M) appears to be intensifying its outreach among the urban marginalised sector. At the 12th district conference of the West Bengal Slum Development Association (WBSDA) — held in Sealdah's Krishnapada Memorial Hall last week — the party revealed its growing organisational footprint across Kolkata’s slums and laid out its roadmap for expansion.
The WBSDA, backed by the CPI(M), has so far built organisational committees in about 400 of the 3,500 slum areas across the city. Leaders at the conference said their goal would be extending this network across all slums in Kolkata, positioning the slum population as a key political constituency in the party’s revival efforts.
Shivendu Ghosh, outgoing district secretary of the association’s Kolkata unit, presented the draft report during the conference, drawing attention to the harsh realities of slum life— ranging from rising unemployment to vanishing state welfare. He demanded 200 units of free electricity, uninterrupted ration distribution and subsidised cooking gas, calling these the minimum lifelines for the urban poor.
“Our surveys show that the slum dwellers who once came to Kolkata for jobs now face severe scarcity. Many are working without even minimum wages,” Ghosh said, adding, “The CPI(M) is standing with them, not just in slogans but in action— by building strong local leadership and mass movements.”
The WBSDA’s Kolkata district conference, which began ceremonially on Saturday, was inaugurated by Ashok Bhattacharya, state president of the association and senior CPI(M) leader. Bhattacharya used the platform to underline the party’s legacy in urban housing reforms during the Left Front era, including changes to tenancy laws that benefited lakhs of slum residents.
“Today, the slum dwellers not only struggle for food but to protect even the roofs over their heads. The dominance of real estate promoters has pushed them to the edge,” he said, blaming both the ruling TMC-led state government and the BJP-led Centre for eroding the rights and security of the poor.
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Bhattacharya warned of worsening conditions due to unchecked urbanisation and called for a united movement to protect slum dwellers from displacement. He emphasised that the CPI(M)’s connection with the poor must be rebuilt through grassroots engagement.
The conference is said to be a significant political move by the CPI(M), suggesting that slum dwellers, who form a substantial portion of Kolkata’s working class, will be central to the party’s electoral strategy in the 2026 elections. As part of its renewed approach, the CPI(M) aims to mobilise slum residents around demands for permanent housing, free essential services and enhanced social security allowances.
“With the TMC still dominant in Kolkata and BJP struggling to gain urban traction, the our strategic focus on slum-based pockets may shape a new political contest in the city’s poorest localities in the coming months,” said a CPI(M) leader.
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