The 8th Delhi State Conference of the CPI(ML) was held successfully on 19-20 July at Narela, a sub-city of Delhi where a large section of Delhi’s industry has been relocated and which therefore houses a large number of workers. The Conference venue was named after martyred JNUSU President Comrade Chandrashekhar (who was also a former Delhi State Committee member) and a rally followed by a mass meeting was held on 19 July morning as the open session of the Conference. The rally was addressed by Comrades Swapan Mukherji, Srilata Swaminathan (central observer for the Conference) and outgoing Delhi State Secretary Rajendra Pratholi – all CC members of the Party. After this the Red flag was hoisted by Com. Roopnarayan and silence was observed in memory of the martyrs. Later, the Delegate session was inaugurated by Com. Swadesh Bhattacharya’s opening address who asked the Delhi State Party to implement the calls and guidelines of the 8th Party Congress.

Nearly a hundred elected delegates attended the Conference, and 54 delegates took part in the debate and discussion on the proposed political-organisational report. The debates were mainly focused on organizing the millions of unorganized sector and daily-wage workers into their respective unions and to establish them as a potent political force to rejuvenate the left movement and expand the party in the national capital of Delhi.

On the second day the State Conference was addressed by Party’s General Secretary Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya who called upon the Party in Delhi to participate in the ongoing intense campaign against the nuke deal and other threats to India’s sovereignty and democracy.

The Conference elected a 19-member State Committee and Comrade Sanjay Sharma was elected the new State Secretary of Delhi. Outgoing State Secretary Comrade Rajendra Pratholi, who had been in that role for 16 years and will now become in-charge of Uttarakhand, was given a warm farewell. 