China, the PKI was not banned and continued to function; its reconstruction began in 1949. Publishing During the 1950s, the party began publishing again; its main publications were Harian Rakyat and Bintang Merah, as well as quarterly journal PKI dan Perwakilan. Leadership of D. N. Aidit National Unity Front In January 1951, during the meeting of the Central Committee, D. N. Aidit was chosen General Secretary. Under his leadership, the PKI began to implement the National Unity Front policy, a policy which was previously abandoned by Tan Ling Djie and other members of leadership, following the death of Musso and the failure of the Madiun affair. Under Aidit, the PKI grew rapidly—from 3,000-5,000 in 1950 to 165,000 in 1954 and 1.5 million in 1959. The PKI led a series of militant August 1951 strikes which were followed by clamp-downs in Medan and Jakarta, and the party leadership briefly went underground. Consultative Body of Political Parties Also under Aidit, the PKI began to consider the possibility of cooperation with the Indonesian National Party (PNI) to overthrow the Masyumi-led cabinet of Mohammad Natsir. After the fall of the Natsir cabinet, the PKI attempted to form a loose association of parties (Consultative Body of Political Parties, BPP) established on the basis of a Common Program with the National Party (PNI), but also a number of other smaller parties, including the Indonesian Islamic Union Party and the Murba Party. However, the PNI refused to join, and the BPP eventually became largely inactive after the establishment of the Sukiman cabinet, which was the result of the Masyumi-PNI coalition. Despite this, the party continued to emphasize the BPP, and adopted it as its basis for cooperation with other parties. Around this time, the PKI committed itself to a nationalist position, supporting Indonesian president Sukarno's anti-colonialist and anti-Western policy. Its program from the time included a "truly independent foreign policy," freedom from the Round Table Conference agreement, a hastening of the return of West Irian to Indonesia, the lifting of the State of War and Siege and of limitations on freedom to strike, faster freeing of political prisoners, elections, nationalization of vital industries, industrialization, and a "just redistribution of land to the peasants, etc. 1955 legislative election The PKI favoured Sukarno's plans for Guided Democracy before the 1955 election, and actively supported him. The party finished fourth in the election, with 16 percent of the vote and