KOCHI: During an election campaign meeting in Kozhikode, CPM central committee member A K Balan emphasised the importance of safeguarding the party symbol. He warned that failing to secure enough votes and seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha election could result in the party losing its national status and its iconic ‘Hammer, Sickle and Star’ symbol.
Despite the poor performance of just four seats and a vote share of 1.76% this time – up from three seats and 1.75% in the 2019 polls – the CPM managed to retain its national party status by securing a surprise victory in the Sikar constituency in Rajasthan. According to the Election Commission’s Political Parties and Election Symbols handbook of 2019, a party can achieve national party status if it is recognised as a state party in four or more states. With its victory in Rajasthan, the CPM will achieve state party status there in addition to Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, and West Bengal.
However, the party’s poor performance in West Bengal, where it failed to win any seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and previous assembly elections, jeopardises its state party status in that state.
Political analysts note that the Election Commission of India will make the final decision based on seats won by the party and its vote share. In 2019, the CPM had only three members in the Lok Sabha with 1.75 per cent of the vote share. Besides Kerala, the party hoped to make gains in Tamil Nadu through an alliance with the DMK, while expecting little success in West Bengal or Tripura. Ultimately, the CPM won two seats in Tamil Nadu, one in Kerala, and one in Rajasthan.
To retain its national party status, the CPM needed to win at least 11 Lok Sabha seats across three states. Hence, it fielded top state leaders in its strongholds in Kerala, including politburo member A Vijayaraghavan, former finance minister Thomas Isaac, M V Jayarajan, former health minister K K Shailaja, Devaswom Minister K Radhakrishnan, and MLA V Joy. However, only Radhakrishnan could emerge victorious.
To maximize vote share, the party fielded all its candidates, including independents, under the official party symbol. For example, Joyce George, who had previously contested under different symbols in 2014 and 2019 from Idukki, contested in CPM symbol this time, as did K S Hamsa, a former Indian Union Muslim League member who switched sides to contest from Ponnani.
“The increase in vote share is crucial to maintaining the national party status. The Election Commission of India will decide on the national party status based on CPM’s performance,” said political analyst J Prabhash. As the CPM still holds state party status in Kerala, Tripura, and Tamil Nadu, it will be able to retain its state national status with the latest win in Sikar, a top CPM leader said. The party will also gain state party status in Rajasthan following the win in Sikar. Another Left party, CPI, previously lost its national party status.
Route to nat’l status
According to the EC’s Political Parties and Election Symbols handbook of 2019, a party can achieve national party status if it is recognised as a state party in four or more states
With its victory in Rajasthan, CPM will achieve state party status there in addition to Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, and West Bengal