BHUBANESWAR: While the election results have brought cheer to the saffron camp, the Left is seeing red with almost negligible presence across the country.
The Left, which once held West Bengal and Tripura as its fortresses and held 53 Lok Sabha seats only 10 years ago, has been reduced to a mere five seats in the 2019 polls.
Even in Kerala, where it rules, the party managed only one victory. Their tally in 2014 came down from 53 to 10.
Surprisingly, the Left has done well in Tamil Nadu, where it is in an alliance with the Congress and DMK, which swept almost all the seats in the state. Political analysts say the Left’s unwillingness to change is leading to their successive defeats and erosion from the political spectrum.
“The Left is still living in the past. It needs to adapt and mould its campaign and ideology to suit current times. In an age where other parties are using innovative campaign techniques, the Left is stuck with traditional methods,” said Left historian Pradip Datta.
To their credit, the Left has tried to return to political relevance by supporting farmers.
“They must push for issues more aggressively and learn to compromise a little to yield better dividends, or the day won’t be far where they will not be present in India’s political scenario. They have ceded their fortress of Bengal to the BJP in just 10 years,” Datta added.
The Left’s only star candidate Kanhaiya Kumar came a distant second to BJP heavyweight Giriraj Singh in the Begusarai constituency of Bihar.