Alappuzha: CPM Central Committee member Thomas Isaac on Thursday stood by his remarks on the party’s electoral defeat, saying he had clearly stated everything that needed to be said and that his observations were based on points discussed in the Central Committee’s review of the election results.

Isaac said his remarks were already reflected in the documents prepared by the party after the election and expressed surprise at the attention they had received. He had pointed to shortcomings within the party and its leadership, the loss of minority votes amid an Opposition campaign alleging a BJP-CPM deal, and the impact of corruption allegations involving cooperative banks. He also called for a change in the party’s approach towards those who leave the organisation.

“I said everything that needed to be said clearly. It is all in the party documents,” Isaac told the media on Thursday. He was referring to remarks made at the foundation-stone laying ceremony of the Pallikkunnu West local committee office in Alappuzha, where he had listed reasons for the party’s electoral setback.

Isaac said he had made the remarks because he did not see anyone recording his speech at the party programme. However, someone recorded it on a mobile phone and the speech subsequently became public.

At a programme organised by the Vallikunnam local committee on Wednesday, Isaac had called for a “course correction” within the party. He said the LDF government had not been completely rejected by the people but had received a “shock” in the election.

He said the party had lost the support of minorities and other sections after its opponents succeeded in convincing voters that the CPM had a deal with the BJP. While describing the campaign as false, Isaac acknowledged that some of the party’s own statements and actions had helped it gain traction.

The remarks differed from the assessment offered by party leader Pinarayi Vijayan, who has spoken at meetings in Kannur about the reasons for the electoral defeat and maintained that the party had not made mistakes that led to the setback. While Vijayan has focused on issues at the grassroots and the conduct of party workers and candidates, Isaac has pointed to shortcomings at several levels of the organisation and leadership.

Isaac also criticised the party’s approach towards those who leave its ranks.

“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,” he said.

Referring to the controversy surrounding cooperative bank funds, Isaac said the money belonged to people who had entrusted it to the institutions and not to the party.

“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.

Isaac said the party was facing a major electoral setback compared with the past and acknowledged that there were problems at the grassroots as well. He maintained that the party needed to make changes and convince people that it had improved.

Kannur CPM bypasses party understanding to hold poll review meets
The differences in the party’s assessment of the defeat have also come to the fore in Kannur, where the CPM district committee held public review meetings with Pinarayi Vijayan at Taliparamba and Payyannur despite there being no specific directive from the state committee to organise them.

The understanding reached after the extended state committee meeting was that review meetings could be held in constituencies where they were considered necessary. The Kannur district committee, however, went ahead with the meetings in the two constituencies after its district secretariat approved a proposal by district secretary K K Ragesh.

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 Payyannur election, and P Jayarajan, who was in charge of Taliparamba, were also not invited.

The move is significant as the party, from the district level to the Central Committee, has acknowledged lapses in candidate selection as one of the factors behind the electoral setback. Yet, in both constituencies, the candidates themselves were made chairpersons of the review meetings.

At the meetings, Vijayan said V Kunhikrishnan had won because he remained associated with the party while working with its opponents. He also criticised T K Govindan, saying the candidate’s position amounted to “betraying the party in every sense” and had created confusion among voters.