Indian Left (by left here I mean predominantly communists) is in a very bad position today for several reasons. Demographically, they bet on the wrong horse. The fact that they appeal less to urban, middle class, industrializing workforce means that as this demographic grows the party that they appeal to (BJP) will continue to grow and collect donations from an increasingly larger and wealthier base. Not to mention that the BJP has positioned itself to be more pro market, which attracts more political funding on its own (what kind of industrialist would donate to the communist party?).
Similarly, the type of grassroots support that the BJP/RSS has is nearly impossible to match by any other party today. The RSS is effectively a peer to peer decentralized network built on civilizational/religious identity transcending local and linguistic identity; and also provides a direct pipeline for the voice of the BJP to reach the average voter. CPI(M) has meanwhile held power in large institutions. In the internet age, the BJP can effectively outmaneuver, out-fund, out-message, and out-recruit the Indian Left.
IMO it’s not that the Left didn’t want to take advantage of the internet age, but rather that the institutions they tied themselves to were ill equipped to do so.
Finally, the Indian Left has historically won power because of poor material condition amongst the Indian poor and rural. BJP governance (specifically digital and physical infrastructure spending) has legitimately improved the lives of these people, to where the Left’s messaging is not hitting the same anymore.
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Indian Left (by left here I mean predominantly communists) is in a very bad position today for several reasons. Demographically, they bet on the wrong horse. The fact that they appeal less to urban, middle class, industrializing workforce means that as this demographic grows the party that they appeal to (BJP) will continue to grow and collect donations from an increasingly larger and wealthier base. Not to mention that the BJP has positioned itself to be more pro market, which attracts more political funding on its own (what kind of industrialist would donate to the communist party?).
Similarly, the type of grassroots support that the BJP/RSS has is nearly impossible to match by any other party today. The RSS is effectively a peer to peer decentralized network built on civilizational/religious identity transcending local and linguistic identity; and also provides a direct pipeline for the voice of the BJP to reach the average voter. CPI(M) has meanwhile held power in large institutions. In the internet age, the BJP can effectively outmaneuver, out-fund, out-message, and out-recruit the Indian Left.
IMO it’s not that the Left didn’t want to take advantage of the internet age, but rather that the institutions they tied themselves to were ill equipped to do so.
Finally, the Indian Left has historically won power because of poor material condition amongst the Indian poor and rural. BJP governance (specifically digital and physical infrastructure spending) has legitimately improved the lives of these people, to where the Left’s messaging is not hitting the same anymore.