Kerala
UDF · 3 MLAs · 1 MP
Part of the United Democratic Front since 2014. The RSP holds the Kollam Lok Sabha seat and returned to government in 2026.
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About the RSP
A party of revolutionaries, forged in the struggle against colonial rule and committed to a socialist India.
Our origins
From the revolutionaries of Bengal
The Revolutionary Socialist Party was founded on 19 March 1940. Its founders came from the Anushilan Samiti and the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army, armed revolutionary groups of the freedom movement. Many of them spent long years in British prisons and the Cellular Jail, where they studied Marxism and turned towards organised working-class politics.
Tridib Chaudhuri is recognised as a founder of the party, and Jogesh Chandra Chatterjee served as its first General Secretary from 1940 to 1953. From Bengal the party spread to Kerala, Tripura and other states, building trade unions, peasant associations and student and youth movements.
1940Founded
Ideology
What guides us
Marxism–Leninism
We analyse society through class struggle and work for the emancipation of the working class.
Revolutionary socialism
A society free of exploitation, where the wealth created by labour serves the people who create it.
Independent Marxism
From the start our founders rejected the Comintern line and 'socialism in one country', criticising Stalin's leadership without turning to Trotskyism.
Left unity
Working with the Left and democratic forces to defend secularism, federalism and the Constitution.
Milestones
Eight decades in the people's struggle
From the Ramgarh conference of 1940 to the Left Front governments of Bengal and Tripura, and the return to government in Kerala in 2026.
Explore our full journey- 1940
The party is founded
The RSP is formed on 19 March 1940 by revolutionaries of the Anushilan Samiti and the HSRA.
- 1977
Left Front in West Bengal
The RSP is a founding constituent of the Left Front that governed West Bengal for more than three decades.
- 2014
A new path in Kerala
The RSP joins the United Democratic Front, N. K. Premachandran wins Kollam, and the RSP (Baby John) merges back into the party.
- 2026
Back in government in Kerala
The RSP wins three seats in the Kerala Assembly and Shibu Baby John is sworn in as a minister in the UDF government.
Where we work
Strong roots in three states
West Bengal
Left Front · birthplace of the party
A founding member of the Left Front, the RSP was part of the state government from 1977 to 2011.
Tripura
Left Front · seven straight terms
The RSP won both its seats in every Tripura Assembly election from 1977 to 2008.
Publications
The party press
Since 'The Socialist' of 1938, the RSP has carried its ideas to the people through its own papers.
Pravaham
Malayalam organ of the party in Kerala.
Ganabarta
Bengali organ of the party.
The Call
English journal of the party (discontinued).
The Socialist
Published from Calcutta in 1938, before the party's founding.
Mass organisations
Our fronts
UTUC
United Trade Union Congress, the RSP's trade union centre.
SKS
Samyukta Kisan Sabha, organising peasants and agricultural workers.
RYF
Revolutionary Youth Front, the youth wing.
PSU
Progressive Students Union, the student wing.
AIUMS
All India United Mahila Sangh, the women's wing.
Where we are
Kerala · West Bengal · Tripura, with units in other states.
Flag & symbol
Under the red flag
Our flag is red, the colour of the working-class movement. The party's election symbol is the Spade and Stoker, representing the labour of workers and peasants.
Image credits
Photographs are from Wikimedia Commons and are used under their Creative Commons licences:
- N. K. Premachandran, Fotokannan, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Shibu Baby John, Sumeshvell, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Baby John: Kerala Legislature member page
- T. J. Chandrachoodan, Rspdrravindran, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Agartala mural, Amarpur campaign, Soman, CC BY 2.5
- Alappuzha flagpole, Soman, CC BY-SA 2.5
- Agartala May Day, Soman, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Farmers in Kuttanad, Achuthan K V, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Kerala Legislative Assembly, rmb, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sansad Bhavan, Nikhilb239, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Cellular Jail, Tonynirappathu, CC BY 4.0
- Anushilan Samiti office and Meghnad Saha, public domain
- Ullas Kovur and Vishnu Mohan: PRS Legislative Research, CC BY 4.0
- Manoj Bhattacharya: CPI(M) official Facebook page
- Tridib Chaudhuri: Marxist Indiana blog
- UTUC Central Committee: Revolutionary Socialist Party RSP supporters, Facebook
- Babu Divakaran, Babudivakaran.kollam, CC BY-SA 4.0
- RSP Tamil Nadu conference, Rspdrravindran, CC BY-SA 3.0
- UTUC flag, Soman, public domain; PSU flag, The Muhammed Ameen, CC BY 4.0; RYF emblem, Konnathady Voice, CC BY 4.0
- Hijli Detention Camp, Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0; Subhas Chandra Bose in 1939, public domain
- Kerala Secretariat, Shagil Kannur, CC BY-SA 3.0; Secretariat skyline, Peter Fristedt, CC BY-SA 2.0
- West Bengal Assembly, Sujay25, CC BY-SA 4.0; Writers' Building, Adam Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Recent programme photos: RSP Kerala official Facebook page
- RSP flag, Nichalp, public domain; RSP emblem, Konnathady Voice, CC BY 4.0
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