KOCHI: The two-day extended Ernakulam district committee meeting of the CPM began at Tripunithura on Wednesday, with the party launching an introspection into the political and organisational reasons behind its rout in the district in the May assembly elections.
In Tripunithura, there was a view within the party that state committee member M Anilkumar would have been better suited than K N Unnikrishnan, sources said.
Anilkumar, who had reportedly begun meeting people in the constituency in anticipation of being considered, was seen by some leaders as a candidate with greater organisational reach there.
The decision to move sitting Vypeen MLA K N Unnikrishnan to Tripunithura, instead of allowing him to retain the seat or shifting him to another constituency, has also come under criticism, sources said.
The Vypeen result is also being examined against the backdrop of consolidation of Latin Catholic votes behind the Congress. CPM candidate M B Shyni, an Ezhava, failed to recover the ground lost by the party, sources said. Congress’ Tony Chammany defeated Shyni by 15,648 votes.
In Thrikkakara, party sources said there was a section that had favoured area secretary A G Udayakumar Arippurath as candidate. The eventual choice, Pushpa Das, suffered a heavy defeat to Congress’ Uma Thomas, who secured a margin of 50,211 votes.
The meeting is also reviewing broader political and organisational decisions and assessing the party’s position at the grassroots level, particularly amid what leaders described as an extraordinary political situation.
The opening session paid tribute to former chief minister V S Achuthanandan and veteran leader K M Sudhakaran.
The meeting will conclude on Thursday, followed by a public meeting near Tripunithura Statue Junction. Vijayaraghavan, T M Thomas Isaac, P Rajeeve, P Sathidevi, M Swaraj, M V Jayarajan, C N Mohanan, V N Vasavan, Saji Cherian and P Jayarajan are among the leaders attending the meeting.
Local dynamics
CPM-led LDF lost all 14 assembly constituencies in Ernakulam, including the five seats it won in 2021
According to party sources, candidate selection in several constituencies has come under scrutiny, with discussions examining whether the party had fielded candidates who could have better connect with local social and political dynamics