Maintenance: Rahul Gandhi's progressive turn pull left people to the congress, says Prasenjit Evil

Economist and social activist Prasenjit Bose joined the Kolkata Congress Party on September 15. Evil (51), who is well known in the social and political circles of West Bengals, resigned from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in 2012 for differences with the party about the support of Pranab Mukherjee’s candidacy as president of India. Evil was an active student leader at Jawaharlal Nehru University (Junu) and one of the most famous strategists of the CPI (M) -Backed Students’ Federation of India (SFI), from the middle of the 1990s to the early 2000s. Former Link leaders who join the congress are not the first former leader to join the congress part. At least eight former Jnusu presidents from left organizations have joined the congress in the past. Congressmen, Syed Nase Hussain and Kanhaiya Kumar, both former left -wing leaders, attended evil’s formal connection to Kolkata on Monday. In an interview with Livemint, evil talks about why he chose the congress, the party’s prospects in the Western Bengals, the decline of the leftist and challenges before India’s economy amid global trading tension. Edited excerpts from the interview: V – Why did you decide to join the congress part? The central challenge for the people is how to defend the Constitution of India against the multiple assaults launched by the ruling regime in the center. The latest one relates to the Supreme Court that remained several provisions of the WAQF Amendment Act. Earlier, the Supreme Court was requested against section 370 upliftment and the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA). Various legislation under the current regime has tested the constitutional limits. These assaults should not only be fought by legal interventions, but also by mass riots. Only a national political party like Congress can do it. The mass mobilization efforts led by Rahul Gandhi, from the Bharat Jodo Yatra to the recent voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar, inspired me to take this step. These initiatives have inspired a large number of people. V – The future of Congress in Western Bengals in the next year’s election? A- The Congress Party plays a big role in West Bengal. If there is a challenge at the national level, it automatically becomes a challenge in the Western Bengals. The growth of the BJP in West Bengals is a recent phenomenon, especially since 2019. BJP has received traction through its common polarization strategy involving issues such as the nationwide NRC, CAA and the Bogey of Bangladeshi infiltration. The wrong governments of the TMC in West Bengal, the Trinamole Congressional Regime in Bengal, also symbolized corruption and state-sponsored violence. Economic stagnation, a lack of jobs for youth, falling education and healthcare, and atrocious atrocities against women are bothering the state. This TMC versus BJP polarization must be broken. Only a powerful force at national level can take on the common politics of the BJP in the center and the crimes of the TMC in the Western Bengals. This is where I see the potential for the congress party. V – From left to the congress part. Not only you, other former colleagues of your left joined the congress. Why see left so many exits? A – The left was in power in Western Bengals for 34 years. People’s memories on the left regime have been unpleasant for the past decade. This is a big reason why the leftist, rather than regaining its massage, lost much of it against the TMC and BJP. Now a TMC-BJP binary has been imposed on the people. Under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, the congress took a progressive turn at national level. He speaks for the Dalits, Adivazis, Minorities, Unemployed Juveniles and Farmers. He insisted on having a nationwide caste census and attacking abuse to capitalism. It is appealing to the natural constituencies of the left. Such progressive politics has a lot of potential in Western Bengals. V- What role do former left-wing leaders play in Congress? A- During the Atal Vajpayee era, when we were students, the left played a major role in building the secular coalition with the congress. The ideological resistance of the left has attracted many people. The difference today is that the space of the left in its then bastions has shrunk, especially in the Western Bengals. The causes of workers, farmers and the marginalized communities remain. In the background, Congress took a progressive turn and filled the space that evacuated the left hand at national level, especially from Bharat Jodo Yatra. Left-Leaning Congressional Leaders played an important role in these initiatives. V- How will the shift from a comrade in a left party to the congress? A – On a personal level, many people do not know that I am from a congress family. No personal crisis is involved here. What is the concrete analysis of the concrete situation political? This is the Marxist approach. Today’s concrete situation is that the secular, democratic constitution of India is destroyed by the Narendra Modes regime. Combating the threat is the central issue. My decision is completely driven by that goal. Western Bengals will soon see an election in the meeting. For that, there will be a special intensive review (SIR) of the election roles. We need a grassroots movement during Sir, such as the one we had against NRC/CAA in the Western Bengals. We must learn from the Bihar experience and ensure that the right to vote for all sections is firmly defended and unfair deletion does not happen. There will also be a voter Adhikar movement in the Western Bengals. And Congress will play an important role. V – You are an economist. Where do you see the Indian economy being placed in Trump tariffs? A – The direction of change for the Indian economy has been south for some time. The central government has manipulated official statistics to hide the downward trend. Just look at the latest GDP estimates for the first quarter of 2025-25. The nominal GDP growth rate has dropped, but the real GDP growth rate has risen. This is due to a deliberate underestimation of the inflation rate. All of these statistical jugglers do not change the adverse impact on people’s lives. People see growing unemployment and falling real wages. Private investment has not yet begun, and now, due to the Trump tariffs, the export will be affected. ‘The government under a wrong assumption’ The United States was the largest export destination of India. We export most from China and export most to the US. When Trump bends his muscles against China, the Modi government rejoices under the wrong assumption that India would benefit from the US China Trade War. Now, in the background of the Ukraine War, Indian oil has become a political matter from Russia. The whole table is turned and India is more intensively punished than China. What is the way out? We need to find new markets outside the US. That’s what China has done all the time. We should have planned for this and pursued export diversification. We need more independence and strategic foresight in our economic and foreign policy. Q – Do we see that your elections are disputing? A- I will be actively involved in mobilizing grassroots during the sir in West Bengal. Being in the congress would enable me to intervene more effectively. I am prepared to dispute the election of the meeting if circumstances require. The central challenge for the people of India is how to resist and combat the recent assaults on the Constitution by the ruling regime in the center. A – I will be actively involved in mobilizing grassroots against Sir in Western Bengals. Being in the congress would enable me to make effective interventions. If the need arises, I will also dispute elections.