Copyright dnaindia
All India Students Association (AISA) leader, two-time president of the JNU Students' Union, and the emerging star of CPI(ML) Liberation, Chandrashekhar, was killed in broad daylight in his hometown of Siwan in 1997. He was allegedly killed by a man close to notorious strongman and RJD MP Mohammad Shahabuddin. When the students wanted to meet then Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, he described them as “drug-crazed upper-caste feudal boys.” After 28 years, the RJD has fielded Osama Sahab, son of Mohammad Shahabuddin, in the Raghunathpur assembly seat. The CPI(ML) Liberation is a part of the RJD-led opposition alliance of Mahagathbandhan; it has not opposed Shahabuddin's son and has not fielded a candidate against him. CPI(ML) Liberation surrenders to realpolitik Call it realpolitik, compromise, opportunistic approach, rejection of ideology, or change with the times, whatever you want. The party that vowed to establish an egalitarian social order has gone places and moved miles in accepting the electoral politics, something they rejected decades ago. The leftist party under the leadership of General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya is a new party. It has changed not only the hue, but also the character of the party; it wants to win as many seats as possible at whatever cost. Vowing to follow the footsteps of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Charu Majumdar, Binod Mishra, and of course Chandrashekhar, Bhattacharya told the Print, "I don’t think it (Osama’s nomination) should be bracketed with Shahabuddin… Shahabuddin, obviously, had his own criminal record, and we fought against him after Chandrashekhar’s assassination. And he went to jail. He’s no more. Chandrashekhar and all the victims of terror in Bihar, I think, got their justice." CPI(ML) in Bihar Election The CPI(ML) Liberation has fielded candidates in 20 constituencies, though it wanted 24. In the 2020 Bihar Election, the CPI(ML) Liberation won 12 of the 19 seats it contested. It registered a strike rate of 63 percent, second only to the BJP’s 67 percent. Earlier, the party won 3, 0, and 6 seats in 2015, 2010, and 2005, respectively. In the Bihar Elections 2025, the CPI(ML) has fielded all incumbent MLAs. The CPI(ML) Liberation, along with the CPI and the CPI(M), performed well in the last election in the western districts of Siwan, Bhojpur, Buxar, Rohtas, Jehanabad, and Patna. The left parties allied with the RJD and Congress before the 2020 Bihar Election. Though the Dipankar Bhattacharya-led party won significantly more seats than they previously had, the analysts argue that the CPI(ML) Liberation’s performance does not indicate any real resurgence. They think it was just the outcome of the political piggyback ride.
