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On Monday, April 6, the Tamil Nadu state secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] P Shanmugam released the party’s manifesto ahead of the state Assembly elections scheduled for April 23, 2026. Among the party’s major promises, the CPI(M) has assured legal protection for lakhs of gig and platform workers working in Tamil Nadu.
Releasing the manifesto at the party headquarters on Monday, Shanmugam and senior CPI(M) leaders including P Vasuki, G Ramakrishnan, and S Kannan said that rest stops with toilets for women auto drivers and gig workers would be constructed.
The party also vowed to fight ‘customary powers’ granted to governors. This assurance comes in the backdrop of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led state government’s long tussle with former Tamil Nadu governor RN Ravi as well as disputes with sitting Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.
Ravi was accused of delaying the assent to several bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly, prompting the DMK to accuse him of acting less as an executive head and more as a campaigner for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The CPI(M) had sent a complaint to the Election Commission accusing Rajendra Arlekar of regularly meeting persons belonging to the BJP and the RSS, in violation of election rules. The CPI(M) also termed the office of governor ‘unnecessary’ and called for the abolition of the post.
The manifesto also calls for a complete ban on corporate donations to political parties, stating that such funding distorts democratic processes and increases the influence of money in politics. It has also called for a five-day work week with seven-hour daily shifts for IT sector employees and demanded that the MS Swaminathan Commission’s recommendation of minimum support price at C2+50% (50% more than the comprehensive cost of production) be implemented.