The 34 years of CPI(M) led Left Front rule in West Bengal was the longest-serving democratically elected communist-led government in the world.

The CPI had experienced an upsurge in support during the years following the World War II, and had led armed rebellions in Telangana, Tripura, and Kerala.

In 1950, B. T. Ranadive, the CPI general secretary and a prominent representative of the radical sector inside the party, was demoted on grounds of left-adventurism.

[25] Under the government of the Indian National Congress party of Jawaharlal Nehru, independent India developed close relations and a strategic partnership with the Soviet Union.

However, large sections of the CPI claimed that India remained a semi-feudal country and that Class conflict could not be put on the back-burner for the sake of guarding the interests of Soviet trade and foreign policy.

[34] At the Tenali convention, a Bengal-based pro-Chinese group, representing one of the most radical streams of the CPI left-wing, presented a draft program proposal of their own.

[41] In 1965 new waves of arrests of CPI(M) cadres took place in West Bengal, as the party launched agitations against the rise in fares in the Calcutta Tramways Company and against the then-prevailing food crisis.

But notably in West Bengal, which was the center of the violent radicalized stream, no prominent leading figure left the party.

Initially, the Indian National Congress formed a minority government led by Prafulla Chandra Ghosh, but that cabinet did not last long.

[56][57] The United Front government in Kerala was forced out of office in October 1969, as the CPI, RSP, KTP, and Muslim League ministers resigned.

[58] A coalition government led by CPI leader C. Achutha Menon was formed, with the outside support of the Indian National Congress.

Subsequently, under the leadership of Hare Krishna Konar and Benoy Choudhury land was distributed amongst 2.4 million landless and poor farmers.

In Calcutta, where many Bangladeshi leftists had sought refuge, CPI(M) worked to co-ordinate the efforts to create a new political organization.

[j] In 1975, the Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi imposed a State of emergency on the premise of internal disturbances suspending elections, legitimising rule by decree and curbing civil liberties.

[68] The proposition for the declaration of the emergency and the formal draft of the ordinance were both notably corroborated to have been forwarded by Siddhartha Shankar Ray.

[73] With the initiation of the Jayaprakash Narayan (JP)'s movement, the CPI-M began providing support to it and went on to participate in discussions for the creation of a united front under the umbrella of the Janata Party.

Several of the leaders of the CPI-M were also influenced by JP with Jyoti Basu noted to be one of his prominent admirers having worked under him in the All India Railwaymen's Federation during the 1940s.

[88] The 23rd Congress of the CPI(M) held between April 6th and 10th 2022 at Kannur, Kerala elected a 85 member Central Committee with one seat left vacant.

Currently the post of General Secretary is vacant after the death of Sitaram Yechury on 12th September 2024. :[89] The 23rd party congress newly inducts Ramchandra Dome, Ashok Dhawale and A. Vijayraghavan into the Politburo.

On 9 July 2008, it formally withdrew support from the UPA government explaining this by differences about the Indo-US nuclear deal and the IAEA Safeguards Agreement in particular.

[117] CPIM had MPs in Andhra Pradesh rajyasabha multiple times including M. Hanumantha Rao from 1988 to 1994, Yalamanchili Radhakrishna Murthy from 1996 to 2002 and Penumalli Madhu from 2004 to 2010.

But in 2020, CPIM's student wing SFI historically won the elections of Central University of Gujarat, which is considered as a right-wing bastion in India.

In Kerala, the CPIM has pursued a policy of massive investment in poverty alleviation, including the distribution of procurement cards that provide almost free access to basic foodstuffs and the introduction of a minimum wage twice the national average, as well as in education and health.

[140] The Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Punjab has an eventful history, connected with the state's socio-political landscape and its struggle for workers' rights, agrarian reforms, and social justice.

The party actively participated in various social and political movements, aiming to uplift the marginalized sections of society and improve their living conditions.

Despite the challenges, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Punjab continues to be active in advocating for workers' and peasants' rights and participating in social and political movements.

[146] CPIM, as a part of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam front in 1989 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election, won 15 seats.

With the backdrop of the Bangladesh War and the emerging role of Indira Gandhi as a populist national leader, the 1971 election to the Lok Sabha was held.

[e 23] In the 1977 Lok Sabha election, the CPI(M) fielded its candidates on 53 seats scattered around in 14 states and union territories of India.

Kerala is the only state where CPI(M) gained one more seat but this is mainly attributed to the splitting of anti-LDF votes between the UDF and emerging NDA.