by Prabhat Patnaik
The Telegraph | July 10, 2019

CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury (extreme right) campaigning for Lok Sabha Election 2019 in West Bengal. Today there is little to distinguish the Left from others.
I am often asked: why has the Left, so powerful less than a decade ago, suddenly got eclipsed? The question is pertinent. True, the eclipse of the Left is mainly in the electoral arena, and the Left’s strength has to be judged in much more than electoral terms. But in one respect at least, which I consider important, the Left has got eclipsed, and this relates to its ability to draw young people into its fold. It has always been able to draw some of the best and the brightest among the youth into its ranks; it still does, but not to the same extent. The hope that with Hindutva’s ascendancy, there would be an influx of students to the ranks of the Left, which appeared justified some months ago, has been belied for the moment.Read More »