Kerala CPI(M) finds no flaws in Pinarayi Vijayan government’s functioning, lists reasons for election defeat

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sectarian splitting of Muslim votes, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s win over Hindu and Christian votes and funding crunch by the Central government have been cited by the CPI(M) in Kerala as reasons for its poor performance in the Lok Sabha elections. The Left Front in the state managed to secure one seat out of the 20 contested in the state.

Amid reports of criticism within the party over Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s style of governance, CPM secretary MV Govindan said there was no such issue, adding that any attempt to attack Pinarayi would be strongly resisted.

Admitting that the party has failed to understand the sentiments of the people, especially issues like non-payment of social welfare pensions to over six million citizens, Govindan said the party will take steps to regain the trust of the masses. For this, party meetings led by senior leaders including general secretary Sitaram Yechury and former general secretary Prakash Karat will be held in the state.

Speaking to media after a five-day meeting of party leaders in Thiruvananthapuram to review the election results, Govindan said that sectarian Islamic organisations such as SDPI, Popular Front of India and Jamaat-e-Islami supported the Indian National Congress and Indian United Muslim League (IUML) during the elections. Moreover, in the national context, the Indian National Congress, which leads the Indian Union, is in a better position than the Bharatiya Janata Party to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party. This factor also worked in favour of the Indian National Congress in Kerala.

He slammed leaders of SNDP Yogam, a Hindu-Ezhava organisation that is supposed to follow the secular ideology of social reformer Sri Narayana Guru, for supporting the Sangh Parivar forces. The BJP, through the BDJS, the saffron party’s coalition partner in Kerala and headed by Natesan’s son Tushar Vellappally, has managed to influence the SNDP Yogam leadership, especially its general secretary Vellappally Natesan, Govindan added.

Govindan said the BJP could also win Christian votes as bishops are seen attending its events. This could be due to the foreign funding issues the BJP faces, but it was also the reason why the Indian National Congress lost over 80,000 votes in Thrissur, the first seat the BJP won in Kerala.

Govindan added that the CPM suffered a similar defeat in the 2019 general elections and could return to power in 2021, and said the current increase in the Congress’ vote share in many parliamentary constituencies in the Lok Sabha elections should not be seen as a trend in the party’s favour.

The CPM will continue to unite secular forces to fight against sectarian forces seeking a theocratic state, and the BJP’s growing influence in Kerala is also an issue that must be addressed, Govindan said.