THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Issues within the State Government, the LDF and the CPM had cost the front dearly in the Lok Sabha election. The CPI’s losing contacts at the grass roots level and the insolence of Communist party leaders were the major reasons cited in the report by CPI state secretary Veliyam Bhargavan for the electoral debacle suffered by the LDF.
The report of the state secretary was presented at the state council meeting that began here on Saturday.
“In Thiruvananthapuram, Mavelikkara, Thrissur and Wayanad where the CPI contested, the party expected a victory.
The hope was based on the reports prepared by the grass roots-level committees.
However, when the votes were counted, our calculations miserably failed. We had failed in understanding the pulse of the voter,” the report said.
The report which finds fault with the PDP alliance mooted by the CPM, however, is conspicuously silent on the impact of SNC-Lavalin case in the verdict.
Though the CPM-PDP alliance was not welcomed by traditional Muslim voters, there was no considerable drop in the Muslim votes.
The CPI points out the case of Nattika Assembly constituency where Congress candidate T N Prathapan won by around 14,000 votes in 2006. A constituency having considerable Muslim presence, Nattika voted for CPI candidate C N Jayadevan this time. Similarly in the coastal areas of Thiruvananthapuram like Valiyathura and Beemapally, party candidate P Ramachandran Nair could win the expected number of votes.
An unprecedented consolidation of Roman Catholic votes has been cited as another reason for the setback. The impact of RC votes consolidation was far beyond expectations in Kottayam, Ernakulam and Thrissur constituencies, the report says.