Karl Marx, Lenin and Mao Zedong are dead and their ideologies also seem to be losing appeal in a globalised world. But many Asian political parties still clasp the hammer and sickle symbols and cleave to their philosophical doctrines. AsiaNews brings you a list of communist parties in the region that still follow the footsteps of Marx, Lenin and Mao:

With more than 70 million members, the Communist Party of China is the largest political party and the largest communist party in the world. It is also the ruling party in CHINA and holds monopoly on the state power. Founded in 1921, the party came to power after fighting a war with the Chinese national government. Its status as the ‘ruling party’ is guaranteed by the constitution, regardless of popular votes of its citizens.

In INDIA, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) is one of the biggest leftist political parties. It has strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura and is leading the state governments there. The party is gradually making an ideological shift towards economic liberalisation.

The Communist Party of the Philippines is one of the few political parties in the world that follow the ideology of Mao Zedong. The party has been fighting a ‘protracted people’s war’ in the PHILIPPINES through its armed wing, the New People’s Army, since 1969. The war resulted to the deaths of about 40,000 people. The CPP is considered a terrorist organisation by the US.

Another political party that retains monopoly on the state power is the Communist Party of Viet Nam. It is the ruling as well as the only legal political party in VIET NAM. Even though the party claims to follow Marxist-Leninist ideology, it has moved towards market reforms and has allowed growth of the private sector.

The largest communist party in NORTH KOREA is the Workers’ Party of Korea. The WPK, currently led by Kim Jong-il, has ruled the country since its independence in 1948. The party is widely viewed by foreigners as Stalinist and is the closest thing to a traditional Stalinist ruling party in the world today. However, the WPK claims to have its own distinct ideology which it considers to be superior to Marxism-Leninism.

The Lao People’s Revolutionary Party of LAOS is another communist party that has monopolised the state’s political power. It follows Marxist-Leninist ideology and was strongly influenced by the Soviet Union’s communism. However, with the fall of the Soviet Union, the party began looking onto China as the model for future development. The party allows economic freedom and a degree of cultural freedom.

The Communist Party of Sri Lanka is a leftist political party in SRI LANKA. At the last legislative elections, the party was part of the United People’s Freedom Alliance, which won 45.6 per cent of the popular vote and 105 out of 225 seats. The CPSL was founded as the Communist Party of Ceylon in 1943, which was a continuation of the United Socialist Party. (Asia News Network/ AsiaNews)