Kozhikode: The CPM's extended Kerala State Committee meeting will begin in Kozhikode on Sunday, setting the stage for a three-day organisational and political stocktaking of the party following its major defeat in the recent Assembly elections.

Party General Secretary MA Baby will inaugurate the meeting at the AKG Auditorium of the party's district committee office in the city. The meeting assumes significance as the party seeks to move beyond the electoral setback and identify the political, organisational and ideological shortcomings that contributed to the defeat.

The discussions are expected to centre on how the party can regain political clarity, strengthen its organisational machinery and reconnect more effectively with the people. The exercise is likely to involve a critical and self-critical assessment of the party’s functioning, with the leadership expected to focus not merely on the electoral outcome but also on the deeper organisational weaknesses exposed by it.

A total of 307 delegates are expected to attend the meeting. Besides Politburo members from Kerala, M A Baby, Pinarayi Vijayan, M V Govindan and A Vijayaraghavan, five other Politburo members, K Balakrishnan, B V Raghavulu, Ashok Dhawale, Viju Krishnan and U Vasuki will attend the meeting as observers. Central Committee members from Kerala, State Secretariat members, State Committee members, district secretariat members and office-bearers of affiliated organisations will also participate.

A review built from the grassroots
After the Assembly election results, the party had prepared a review through a process that is different from the party’s conventional method. Instead of the State Committee preparing a review first and sending it down to the lower committees for discussion, the party this time sought the views of its organisational units at different levels before finalising the assessment. The party also sought opinions directly from the public following the election defeat. The feedback received from people, along with the discussions within the organisational structure and the guidelines issued by the Central Committee, went into the preparation of the review.

The State Committee discussed the report in detail and approved it. The same report, subsequently subjected to further discussion within the party units, will form the basis of deliberations at the extended State Committee meeting.

The exercise reflects an attempt by the CPM to look beyond conventional explanations for an electoral defeat and examine whether the party’s organisational functioning has kept pace with the political and social changes taking place in Kerala.

Why did the LDF’s achievements fail to translate into votes?
One of the central questions before the meeting is likely to be why the achievements of ten years of LDF rule failed to translate into electoral support, despite the party’s expectation of returning for a third consecutive term.

The disconnect between growing party membership and the absence of a corresponding expansion in mass influence is another issue that is expected to receive serious attention. The party is likely to examine whether its organisational structures and political interventions have become sufficiently responsive to people’s concerns.

The extended meeting is also expected to consider practical measures to correct organisational weaknesses that may have contributed to the Assembly election defeat. Raising the political and ideological consciousness of party members and improving their organisational efficiency are likely to figure prominently in the discussions.

The leadership is also expected to examine the extent to which ideas and values associated with capitalist society have influenced sections of the organisation and identify ways of countering such tendencies through political and ideological education.

BJP’s rise and the changing political equation
The BJP’s emergence as a three-seat force in Kerala will be another important aspect of the deliberations. The party is expected to examine the political circumstances that enabled the BJP to make gains and work out strategies to contain and defeat it. This assumes added significance against the backdrop of changes in Kerala’s political landscape, where the traditional bipolar contest between the LDF and UDF has increasingly been accompanied by the BJP’s efforts to expand its footprint.

ED's move against Pinarayi may also draw attention
The meeting is taking place against the backdrop of the Enforcement Directorate writing to the state police chief recommending an investigation against PB member and former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in connection with the CMRL–Exalogic case involving his daughter T Veena.

Whether the issue will come up for discussion at the extended State Committee meeting is being closely watched in Kerala’s political circles. While the principal agenda is the party’s organisational and electoral review, the development comes at a politically sensitive juncture for the CPM and its leadership.

Party State Secretary MV Govindan has already maintained that the party moves forward through criticism and self-criticism, guided by the principles of democratic centralism and inner-party democracy. The leadership has projected the extended meeting as an opportunity to confront the setback, identify its causes and arrive at corrective measures rather than remain focused on the defeat itself.

The choice of Kozhikode for the three-day exercise will also give the meeting a wider public and political setting. The event will conclude on September 15 with a rally and public meeting at Kozhikode beach, where the party expects around 1.25 lakh people to participate.