Kerala CPI-M finally admits ‘unexpected’ election defeat, accepts self-criticism

Thiruvananthapuram: CPI-M’s Kerala state Secretary M.V. Govindan on Tuesday said the party suffered “an unexpected defeat” in the state Assembly elections and admitted that it failed to foresee its fate.

Govindan also said the party has accepted the criticism that emerged during its self-evaluation process.

Addressing a press conference after a series of party meetings, he said the review report on the Assembly election, prepared after collecting opinions from lakhs of party workers across nearly 40,000 party units, was unanimously approved by the CPI-M state Committee after a two-day meeting.

An expanded state Committee meeting would be convened to prepare an action plan for the party in the present political situation, he added.

A meeting of district-level leaders and representatives from various fields will also be held in August.

Before that, the party will seek the views of people outside its organisational structure and seek public support to face the challenges of the present period.

People can send their opinions through WhatsApp and email, he said.

Govindan said the world is currently witnessing a strengthening of right-wing influence.

He said the LDF government’s performance had generally received public acceptance, but discussions at the grassroots level showed that issues faced by people in traditional sectors, including the construction sector, had not been fully resolved.

This, he said, had adversely affected the LDF in the elections.

He alleged that in nearly 30 constituencies, BJP votes went to the UDF, while in some seats, UDF votes went to the BJP.

He claimed that the BJP-Congress deal became clear within days of the UDF government coming to power.

He also alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s attacks against the LDF and CPI-M during the campaign were made at the insistence of his party’s state leadership.

Govindan also said the Sabarimala gold theft case affected the election results, as the party failed to effectively counter the opposition campaign.

He said allegations that the party could not remove A. Padmakumar from the issue at an early stage had worked against it.

He added that the Ayyappa Sangamam organised by the government created confusion among people due to the perception that it was a government programme.

Govindan said the party had already rejected SNDP Yogam General Secretary Vellappally Natesan’s communal remarks.

He also acknowledged criticism from district committees that candidate selection had gone wrong in Payyannur and Taliparambu constituencies.

Incidentally, at Taliparambu, it was Govindan’s wife who had to bite the dust after their long-standing party colleague T.K.Govindan contested as a rebel candidate and got the support of the Congress.

IANS