THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Post the humiliating defeat in the assembly elections, the CPM is all set to reach out to the masses and the grassroots cadre, seek opinions to find out the reasons for the loss, and make necessary course correction. The CPM state secretariat, which met on Wednesday, decided to initiate an exhaustive exercise to collect feedback from the ground to review its poll debacle.
In its preliminary assessment, the party observed that organisational and political drawbacks coupled with various campaigns collectively contributed to the Left defeat. The secretariat meet, which lasted until late night, witnessed severe criticism against the leadership for lapses in candidate selection and in addressing internal rifts in different pockets especially in Kannur, besides the failure in gauging public sentiment. Though most criticism was aimed at the chief minister and the state secretary, there was no direct attack against the leaders.
Some of those who spoke at the secretariat pointed out that the party machinery has been weak for some time and needs to be rejuvenated right from the lower rungs. It is in this backdrop that the party decided to approach lower level cadre and collate reasons for what went wrong. One of the leaders said mere cosmetic change will not do
Addressing the media, CPM state secretary M V Govindan said the party would hold meetings at all organisational levels – area, local and branch committees – in May and June in the presence of senior leaders to review the poll outcome before coming up with a final assessment, so as to set the course correction in motion.
Notably, the state secretary said the cadre would be able to “express their opinions in a free and fearless manner” at these meetings. “Only after listening to the people and cadre will the party finalise its poll review; necessary corrections will be made accordingly,” he said.
Referring to the current scenario, the secretary said this time around the LDF got 37.6% vote share. In 2019, it was 35.1%, and in 2024, the vote share stood at 33.35%. Govindan added that in the past too the party had undertaken such corrective measures whenever required and bounced back from defeats.
