New Delhi: The Kerala unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) mainly cited consolidation of the minority communities in the state for its debacle in the Lok Sabha elections. Curiously, it ignored the anger among the Hindu devotees over the Sabarimala issue while submitting a report to the CPM polit buro (PB) over its massive defeat.
In the report, the Kerala unit has primarily pinpointed two reasons for the poll rout: the minorities believed that only the Congress can resist the BJP at the Centre, and that the traditional voters of the party were swayed by the right-wing campaign.
CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury said that the Kerala unit highlighted the political scenario in which only the Congress looked to be the alternative for the people. The Kerala unit was not hinting that the party’s pro-Congress stand had hampered its chances in the polls, he added.
The CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) could win only Alappuzha seat among the 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala.
The government decision to implement the Supreme Court order on women’s entry at the Sabarimala temple had alienated the faithful from the party, the CPM state secretariat had said after a meet soon after the poll results came on May 23. However, these points were skipped in the report submitted to the PB.
Bengal chief offers to quit
After being handed down yet another defeat, CPM Bengal state secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra opined that the veteran leaders should now make way for the youth. Misra had offered to quit earlier when the Left suffered a massive defeat in the 2016 assembly polls in Bengal. He has reiterated his willingness to quit after the LS rout. The party drew a blank in the state.
The Bengal unit pointed out that the exit polls were able to gauge the mood of the electorate accurately. Then how come the party's calculations went wrong, it sought to know.
The general secretary admitted that the party has been on a losing streak since 2009. Each time a new reason led to the poll debacle, he added.
Yechury made it clear that though Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was invited to campaign in Bengal, he had to skip it as he had to go abroad over government matters.
Meetings
The CPM central committee will meet from June 7. Before that the state units of Kerala, Bengal and Tripura would hold meetings. The Kerala state council would meet from May 30-June 1 for a thorough introspection.
