Revolutionary Communist Party of India is a political party in India. The party was founded by Saumyendranath Tagore in 1934, breaking away from the Communist Party of India. During the period 1934-1938 the name of the party was Communist League. The name RCPI was taken at the 3rd party congress in 1938.
RCPI were against the new Popular Frontist politics of CPI and the cooperation with the Indian National Congress. During Second World War RCPI supported the Quit India Movement, och and a large part of the leadership was imprisoned.
After the war RCPI started organizing soviets (panchayats) amongst peasants and workers, as a first step towards the Indian revolution. Differnent views on the revolutionary wat led to a split in 1948, and Pannanlal Dasgupta (who was general secretary of RCPI during the war years) broke away and formed his own RCPI: Dasgupta advocated armed struggle. The leadership of Dasgupta’s party was later on taken over by Sudhir Kumar.
In 1960 the trotskyist Revolutionary Workers Party merged with the RCPI of Kumar. In the state elections in West Bengal the RCPI of Kumar won several seats. But when the RCPI of Kumar supported Nehru’s line in the war against China, many of the leading trotskyists pulled out of RCPI.
Ahead of the 1967 elections the RCPI of Tagore had been registered under the name Bharater Biplabi Communist Party (RCPI in Bengali) whereas Kumar’s party had been registrered under the name RCPI.
What later happened to the RCPI of Tagore is unclear. If one studies electoral results from 1971 it appears that he switched over to Kumar’s party (the election results shows a Soumendra Nath Tagore as a RCPI candidate, in the same constituency were Sauyendra Nath Tagore stood for BBCP in 1969. It also possible that it is just a mix-up on behalf of the Election Commission.), at the same time as the BBCP lived on. The registered name BBCP disappeared in 1972 but resurged in 1977. According to Alexander (see below) Tagore’s party was split in two, with one led by Anandi Das. But earlier Anandi Das had been part of Kumar’s RCPI.
During the 1980’s Kumar’s RCPI participated in elections as independent candidates. The party was split in two, and in 1991West Bengal state assembly elections two RCPIs contested in the Hansan constituency. RCPI (Rasik Bhatt) and RCPI (Gouranga Sin). Later RCPI(GS) seems to have disappeared. Also the parties formed out of Tagore’s RCPI seems to have disappeared. RCPI (Rasik Bhatt) is most likely RCPI group still around. The party is active in West Bengal and Assam, and has at times been part of Left Front governments in West Bengal. It is led by Mihir Bain. The party is a member of the Left Front in West Bengal.
In the city of Howrah RCPI won a seat in the municipal council polls in 2003 (In total the Left Front had put up two RCPI-candidates in the city).
Basthura Kalyan Parishad (Refugee Welfare Council) was a RCPI-related (unclear which faction) organization active in camps for refugees from East Pakistan who came to West Bengal after Partition in 1947. RCPI was especially active in the camps near Nadia.
The party Real Communist Party of India which existed around 1991, was most probably a RCPI-splinter-group.
Election results
Election results listed by registered party name. Only RCPI-factions which were registered are listed. Winning candidates are marked by *.
The Lok Sabha election results of 1951 mentions one RCPI (registered as a national party), but it is unclear which faction it was (most probably RCPI (Pannanlal)).
