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Journalism of Courage
For the second consecutive time, the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala has faced a rout in the Lok Sabha elections. For the second consecutive time, the CPI(M), in its post-poll introspection, has concluded that the party failed to gauge the mood of the people and their preferences.
The CPI(M) central committee, in its review of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, in which the LDF won just one seat out of 20 in Kerala, said, “The estimates of votes we expect from each constituency — before polling and after polling — show a wide gap with the actual results. This shows the party units are unable to gauge the mood of the people or their preferences. This weakening of the party’s live links with the people has to be corrected.”
That’s not too different from the party’s analysis after the 2019 elections of the results in Kerala, when it had again won just one seat. Its review had said: “… even after polling, comrades in Kerala were hopeful of getting a majority of seats. However, we lost a majority of the seats by a margin of around a lakh or more votes. Why we failed to understand the mood of the people is a matter of serious concern. The state committee should take appropriate steps to rectify the mistakes and shortcomings.”
Incidentally, even after the 2014 Lok Sabha elections where it had won eight seats in Kerala, the CPI(M) post-poll review had concluded: “Given the alienation of the party from the people, we should go among them, step up our mass activities, forge links with the people and initiate struggles on local issues.”
The party’s repeated admission of its failure to gauge the people’s sentiments is surprising, considering its robust grassroots network, its well-oiled poll machinery, and the strength of its mass organisations.
Moreover, in the run-up to the 2024 elections, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Cabinet had done a month-long tour covering all the 140 Assembly segments in the state, calling it a bid to understand people’s woes. The ‘Nava Kerala Sadas’ bus tour was a one-of-its-kind outreach programme by a state Cabinet.
Another factor flagged in its review of the 2024 elections by the CPI(M) is “… the erosion of our traditional base to the BJP in several constituencies”. The party has talked about the BJP making inroads into the Left’s traditional vote bank among the backward Hindu Ezhava community, mainly in Alappuzha and Attingal.
Again, this is nothing new, as the party had flagged the issue in 2019 too, when it said: “… voting strength of the party was eroded in some of its traditional bases. The party should seriously examine why its base is not expanding, despite the hard work of the party and the good performance of the government.”
It was in the Attingal Lok Sabha seat that the BJP had emerged as a strong contestant for the first time in 2019. The 2024 results show the BJP’s vote bank has further increased, mainly at the cost of the Left.
In some other aspects, the CPI(M) central committee’s review of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the state has parallels with its assessments going all the way back to 2009.
After the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, when the party had won four seats in Kerala, the party had noted in its review “instances of alien trends among party members which violate Communist norms”. The review also noted, “All such and other shortcomings and weaknesses should be critically and self-critically examined and rectified. A rectification campaign should be organised against all the shortcomings, mistakes and deviations.”
Its 2024 election review says: “Instances of arrogant behaviour of cadres – from the top to the bottom – are alienating people from the party. The importance of rectification to eliminate wrong trends and behaviour must be undertaken in a planned manner.”
