Kozhikode: As the CPM's extended State Committee meeting concluded on Tuesday, the party used its mass rally in Kozhikode to reach out to its rank and file with a message of introspection, with top leaders acknowledging that mistakes in the party's functioning had contributed to its recent electoral debacle.

Addressing a gathering of around one lakh people, CPM General Secretary M A Baby urged party leaders to remain open to criticism from grassroots workers and said the organisation must be willing to correct its mistakes and rebuild its connect with the masses.

"We admit that the CPM and Left Front have made mistakes and wrong decisions. We are open to admitting them. The Left Front government implemented several welfare projects and measures in Kerala. The party and Left Front workers therefore expected to win the election. But we failed to understand the influence of false narratives spread by our opponents against the Left parties and government, and failed to address them. We were not vigilant enough. The extended State Committee meeting was an effort to correct that mistake," Baby said.

Baby said the CPM had faced false narratives in the past too, recalling allegations that party leaders were Chinese spies or British supporters. "Now, such false allegations are being made in new forms. We will fight against them," he said.

Targeting the Congress, Baby said election strategists had successfully propagated a baseless campaign about a CPM-RSS deal and such narratives could influence voters. He alleged that while the Congress accused the CPM of having links with the RSS, it was itself engaged in a secret understanding with the organisation.

"If false campaigns played a major role in the party's defeat in the recent election, the lack of vigilance on the part of the party also contributed to the defeat," he said.

State Secretary M V Govindan, who faced criticism over his style of functioning during the extended State Committee meeting, also struck a note of admission and correction. "We will correct all bad practices in the party. We will work for people's welfare. We will move forward by correcting our mistakes. We will not try to cover up any mistake committed by the party. We are open to admitting mistakes and correcting them in the future," he said.

Govindan sought to project the setback as temporary, recalling former Chief Minister A K Antony's earlier prediction that the CPM would remain out of power for 100 years. "Within a few years, the CPM regained its lost glory," he said, arguing that the party could again return to prominence because of its commitment to people's welfare.

He highlighted the Left's role in building the Kerala model of development and eradicating extreme poverty, while attacking the UDF government over what he termed anti-people policies, including multiple power cuts a day. Govindan said the UDF government would face greater political exposure in the coming days.

He also warned party workers against the BJP-NDA's emergence as a third political force in Kerala. Recalling the BJP's defeat of the CPM in Tripura, Govindan said the BJP and Sangh Parivar would seek to weaken communist parties in Kerala as part of an ideological battle. "Workers should remain vigilant against it," he said.

Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan and other senior CPM leaders also addressed the rally, which was organised as a public culmination of the party's three-day organisational review.