Kannur CPM bypasses party understanding to hold poll review meets at Taliparamba, Payyannur

Thiruvananthapuram: The CPM Kannur district committee appears to have gone off script, holding public meetings with Pinarayi Vijayan at Taliparamba and Payyannur to explain the party’s electoral losses there, despite no state committee directive.

The understanding after the extended state committee meeting was that review meetings could be held in constituencies where they were deemed necessary. The Kannur district committee, however, went ahead with meetings in the two constituencies without a specific directive from the state committee.

The district secretariat had approved a proposal by district secretary K K Ragesh to hold the meetings with Vijayan participating. There was no discussion on which other leaders should be invited. Apart from Vijayan and Ragesh, T V Rajesh was the only state committee member to attend.

State secretary M V Govindan was absent from the Taliparamba meeting, despite it being his home constituency. P K Sreemathy, who was in charge of the election in Payyannur, and P Jayarajan, who had been in charge of Taliparamba, were also not invited.

The move is significant because the party, from the district level to the central committee, has already acknowledged candidate selection lapses as a factor behind the electoral setback. Yet, in both constituencies, the candidates themselves were made chairpersons of the review meetings.

Speaking at these meetings the other day, Pinarayi Vijayan said V Kunhikrishnan had won because he continued to remain associated with the party while working with its opponents. He also criticised T K Govindan, saying the candidate had adopted a position that amounted to “betraying the party in every sense,” creating confusion among voters.

Thomas Isaac flags lapses, calls for course correction
CPM central committee member Thomas Isaac, meanwhile, called for a course correction, pointing to shortcomings within the party and its leadership.

Speaking at a programme organised by the Vallikunnam local committee in Alappuzha, Isaac said the LDF government had not been completely rejected by the people but had received a “shock”.

The remarks marked a sharp contrast with Vijayan’s focus on grassroots workers. Isaac, instead, pointed to shortcomings at several levels, including within the organisation and its leadership.

“We managed to lose the votes of minorities and others after our opponents convinced them that we had a deal with the BJP. That was a false campaign. But some of our own statements and actions helped it,” Isaac said.

He said the party was facing a major electoral setback compared with the past and acknowledged that there were problems at the grassroots as well.

Isaac also turned to the controversy surrounding cooperative bank funds, stressing that the money belonged to the people who had entrusted it to the institutions.

“The money in cooperative banks is not our money or the party’s money. It belongs to the people, who entrusted it to us because they trusted us. If you borrow money from a bank, you have to repay it. Otherwise, you should step away from the party,” he said.

He also called for a change in the party’s approach towards those who leave it.

“Our attitude was, ‘Let him go’ if someone left the party. We thought it was enough to have only those who truly believed in us. But then we have to answer the questions they raise. All this needs to change. And that alone is not enough; people must also feel that we have improved,” Isaac said.

However, later on Monday, Issac that said his statements had been blown out of proportion, adding that he had merely reiterated findings already stated in the party's state and central committee reports. He said there was no need to read too much into his remarks or attach unnecessary meaning to them.