CPI(ML) Liberation launches month-long education campaign to reach young voters in Bihar, UP
CPI(ML) Liberation begins a one-month education reform campaign in Bihar and UP, targeting young voters with public meetings and outreach.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation is set to launch a month-long campaign focused on education sector reforms, beginning with a public meeting in Patna on September 6. The initiative is aimed at engaging young voters in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections scheduled for early next year.
Party General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said the campaign will highlight issues such as inadequate school and college infrastructure and concerns over the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP). He argued that while every panchayat in Bihar is officially supposed to have a school up to Class 12, many upgrades exist only on paper, with schools operating out of four classrooms and lacking boundary walls, libraries, and other basic facilities.
The campaign is described as an extension of the momentum from recent student-led protests at Jantar Mantar, where a significant number of participants reportedly came from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The party's student wing, the All India Students' Association (AISA), is expected to play a key role in the outreach.
In Uttar Pradesh, the party plans public meetings in Prayagraj, Varanasi, Azamgarh, Gorakhpur, Ayodhya, and Meerut. Party leaders have expressed concern that the state administration might cancel permits at the last minute.
On the opposition strategy in Uttar Pradesh, Bhattacharya said the Samajwadi Party, as the principal opposition force, along with its ally the Congress, would need to play a central role in challenging the BJP government. He added that a broader coalition including Left parties is essential for an effective electoral challenge.
Bhattacharya also claimed that AISA's organisational footprint has expanded since the Jantar Mantar protests, with new units being established in cities and towns where the student organisation had little or no presence earlier, including Mumbai.
The campaign is scheduled to conclude on October 5 with a public meeting at Jadavpur University in West Bengal.