Five months on, CPM still studying Payyannur debacle; will win over those who left party, says KK Ragesh
Following a shock defeat in Payyannur, CPM district secretary K K Ragesh announced an extensive review to address public misunderstandings, correct party shortcomings, and win back supporters who drifted away during the election.
Following a shock defeat in Payyannur, CPM district secretary K K Ragesh announced an extensive review to address public misunderstandings, correct party shortcomings, and win back supporters who drifted away during the election.
Following a shock defeat in Payyannur, CPM district secretary K K Ragesh announced an extensive review to address public misunderstandings, correct party shortcomings, and win back supporters who drifted away during the election.
Kannur: Five-and-a-half months after its electoral debacle in Payyannur, the CPM is still examining the reasons for its defeat and planning to win back sections of the supporters who drifted away from the party.
Speaking to reporters in Kannur, CPM Kannur district secretary K K Ragesh said on Friday that the Payyannur defeat was not a minor issue and required a detailed review. The party had suffered a substantial loss of votes compared with what it had expected, he said.
Payyannur was the safest seat for the CPM in Kerala, and its vote share of 62.49% was the highest for any party in any constituency in the state in 2021. But in 2026, amid massive protests and allegations over fund misappropriation of the party, rebel leader V Kunhikrishnan defeated the incumbent T I Madhusoodanan by 7,487 votes. CPM's vote share crashed to 44.34%. “The review is extensive and will naturally take some time,” Ragesh said at a press conference in Kannur on Friday.
Ragesh said sections of the public had moved away from the party because of misunderstandings created by allegations and narratives during the last election. The same had happened elsewhere in Kerala, he said.
“We will make efforts to explain the facts to these people, correct anything that needs correcting on our part and bring them back into the party’s fold,” he said.
The party would prepare an action plan to reconnect with those who had distanced themselves from the Left, he said.
“I am not referring to those who betrayed the party, joined the opposition or moved into the camps of the RSS and the Congress. I am referring to people who have been misled and have distanced themselves from the party,” he said.
The party would also correct its own shortcomings, if identified during the review, and work to bring such people back, Ragesh said.
Seeking to counter the impression that the party had lost its support base in Payyannur, he cited crowds at programmes attended by the Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan in two locations in the constituency and at local-level family gatherings organised by the CPM. “People remain with the party. There is no doubt about that,” he said.