the party was founded in 1982, through the mergers of cpi(ml) unity organisation of naveen prasad (bihar) and bhowani roy chowdhury (west bengal) and the coc, cpi(ml) faction led by m. appalasuri. cpi(ml) unity organisation had been founded in 1978 by a group of naxalites from the jehanabad-palamu area, that had been released from prison in 1977. the central organising committee, communist party of india (marxist-leninist) had been formed by some elements of the erstwhile cpi(ml). the coc, cpi(ml) upheld the legacy of charu majumdar but was ready to retain a critical attitude to some aspects of majumdar's role.