DYFI elects new state leadership in place of Minakshi

India’s Democratic Youth Federation (DYFI), the youth wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), today elected a new 97-member state committee during its West Bengal state conference in Berhampore, reaffirming its commitment to grassroots activism and resistance against unemployment, corruption, and political violence.

Dhrubajyoti Saha was elected as the new state secretary, while Ayanangshu Sarkar was named president. The party’s official publication Yuvashakti will now be helmed by Saroj Das, with Rudraprasad Mukherjee appointed as treasurer. The newly-elected committee also selected a 25-member secretariat. Outgoing state secretary Minakshi Mukherjee addressed delegates in a farewell speech, urging continued defiance in the face of state repression.

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Central committee general secretary Himagnaraj Bhattacharya acted as the party observer during the transition. Addressing a special session, former national DYFI secretary and veteran Marxist leader Mohammad Salim accused India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and West Bengal’s Trinamul Congress (TMC) of undermining the rural job guarantee scheme (MGNREGA). “The left made this law a reality during the first UPA government. Modi came to power ideologically opposed to it. TMC looted the funds meant for the poor,” Salim said, adding that the youth must fearlessly defend the right to work. The conference highlighted stories of grassroots struggles from across the state—from tea gardens in the north to the farmlands of Burdwan and the industrial outskirts of Kolkata. Delegates recounted incidents of police brutality, false cases, and physical assaults by political rivals.

Sagar Sharma, a youth leader, was noted as having spent the longest time behind bars, while several others, including Mohammad Nur Zaman and Soumojit Biswas, were also incarcerated for their activism. The mother of slain DYFI activist Bidyut Mondal, Amala Mondal, attended the session and said she felt pride listening to the new generation of fighters. Local struggles were a key focus. Delegates cited movements in Farakka against police inaction in a child rape and murder case, protests in Bhatar for railway access, and resistance in Sandeshkhali against land-grabbing practices allegedly backed by the ruling party. The most graphic testimony came from Murshidabad’s Hasmat Sheikh, who was allegedly assaulted by TMC workers for writing DYFI slogans. Despite losing consciousness, he returned to organize his local unit. Police were later compelled to file a complaint against the attackers. The conference venue, Rabindra Sadan, was adorned with images from DYFI’s legacy of protest, including a large mural quoting Rabindranath Tagore: “I consider it an insult to believe in the ultimate and hopeless defeat of humanity.”

In a broader geopolitical context, Mohammad Salim condemned right-wing efforts to stir jingoism over the West Asia conflict, urging young Indians to distinguish between genuine patriotism and aggressive nationalism. “There is no contradiction between internationalism and patriotism,” he said. “To speak truth to power in the interest of the people is the highest form of love for one’s country.”