THIRUVANATHAPURAM: It took exactly a month for CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan to take a 360 degree turn from his original view of the reasons for his party's failure in the local body polls.
On November 30, when Pinarayi Vijayan admitted that the failure of the LDF in the local body polls was shocking, it was a contradiction of his claim on November 1 that the base of the party in the State was intact. The Uturn of the secretary and the state leadership was a result of the brainstorming done in its last session, as directed by the CPM Central Committee.
"From day one, the central leadership was not ready to buy the argument of state leaders that the party gained considerably when compared to the performance in Lok Sabha polls. The first review of the available Politburo itself had pointed fingers at the state leadership,'' a CPM leader said.
The arguments of the state leadership based on tricky statistics were rejected by the CC which authorised general secretary Prakash Karat to personally attend the state committe meeting in Kerala and assess the ground realities. There were remarks such as the ones made by the Thiruvananthapuram district committee said even DYFI and SFI workers were reluctant to join the party. Sources said the debate inside the state committee was more candid. "An air of fear that used to surround the meeting was absent this time. The secretary himself was in a mood to patiently listen whatever the members say,'' said a state committee member. As a result, members frankly spoke about everything from the bureaucratic attitude of the panchayat members to the arrogance of the state leaders in the meeting.
Prakash Karat and S Ramachandran Pillai, who were keenly observing the debates, took note of all those points. When summing up the debate, Pinarayi promised to look into each and every concerns raised by the state committe members. In the regional reportings that will begin on Friday, Pinarayi Vijayan will convey the findings of the state committee to the district, area and local committee leaders.
