Thiruvananthapuram: The CPM has described the sharp erosion of votes in the local body elections as a serious political and organisational setback, even as it remains reluctant to concede that a strong anti-incumbency wave played a decisive role.

According to the party leadership, minority communities appear to have shifted away almost en masse, while sections of the CPM’s traditional core vote base also slipped. The leadership has acknowledged that there were no clear warning signals during the campaign or preparatory phase to suggest that such a reversal was imminent.

The CPM State Secretariat had confidently expected to retain at least three corporations and nine district panchayats under any circumstances, while also assuming continued dominance in gram and block panchayats. However, the election verdict overturned these expectations entirely. Despite this, party centres remain hesitant to accept anti-incumbency as the primary factor behind the setback.

In its preliminary assessment of the poll debacle, the CPM has identified several contributing factors, as listed below:

• Candidate selection faltered in multiple locations, emerging as a key reason for defeats in the Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam corporations.
• Intense infighting among aspirants seeking leadership positions in local bodies proved damaging in many areas, often leading to backstabbing and internal sabotage.
• The party noted the need to examine whether internal dissent arose against individuals who, while claiming to represent the official line, acted independently.
• The Sabarimala gold theft case adversely affected the party, with the failure to take action against those arrested further compounding the damage.
• Overall, the campaign lacked momentum, with neither the CPM nor the LDF able to set the political agenda.
• Public resentment stemming from the decay and corruption of the LDF’s rule was not anticipated.
• Efforts to win back SNDP votes that shifted to the NDA through the BDJS also failed.
• Party committees were unable to rein in rebels, with the number of dissidents exceeding that of the 2020 elections.
• Ground-level reports suggesting the absence of anti-incumbency sentiment are now being viewed with scepticism.