CPM report blames governance failures, anti-incumbency for poll debacle

Thiruvananthapuram: The CPM has delivered a scathing self-assessment of its previous stint in power in Kerala, admitting that it failed to exercise effective control over the Pinarayi Vijayan government and overlooked growing public discontent over its functioning.

The candid admission forms part of a report prepared by the party Central Committee after reviewing the Assembly election results in Kerala and other states. Uploaded on the party's official website on Monday, the report noted that, unlike during its earlier terms in office, the party did not constitute a sub-committee to monitor the implementation of government programmes and provide policy direction to the administration.

According to the report, the Pinarayi Vijayan government faced widespread public resentment over the high-handed functioning of the police and the bureaucracy. It also noted that party workers had voiced similar concerns.

The report further said some ministers had become excessively dependent on bureaucrats. During its earlier stints in power, the mass organisations under the party had actively taken up public issues and mobilised popular support. This, however, could not be achieved over the past 10 years.

It also conceded that undesirable trends such as arrogance, corruption, nepotism and an extravagant lifestyle had crept into a section of the leadership. The failure to correct these tendencies in time eroded public confidence in the party.

While the State leadership continues to maintain that there was no anti-incumbency sentiment against the LDF government, the Central Committee report emphatically states that widespread public disenchantment indeed set in.

The report also examines the party's handling of the Sabarimala gold smuggling case involving A Padmakumar. It notes that after Padmakumar's arrest, the CPM national leadership had directed the State unit to initiate disciplinary proceedings. Had the directive been implemented promptly, the party could have avoided such a major political setback over the issue.

The report further noted that the intervention of the national leadership was required to resolve the dispute with the CPI over the PM SHRI scheme, but by then the damage had already been done.

It also criticised the party's candidate selection process, noting that an adequate number of women, youth and members of minority communities were not fielded in the elections. The report made it clear that responsibility for this lapse could not rest solely with the district committees and that the State leadership, too, had a role in it.