The State leadership of the Communist party of India (Marxist) [CPI-M] came under fire on the opening day of the two-day party State committee meeting here on Thursday for flawed candidate selection and erosion in traditional support base of the party in the Lok Sabha elections.
Several of those who participated in the discussion on the election review report presented to the committee by CPI(M) State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan were of the view that the manner in which the party leadership had gone about the candidate selection was flawed and had hurt the party and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the elections.
The party leadership, they felt, had also failed to gauge the public mood correctly.
According to party sources, one of the dominant views expressed by the speakers was that it was wrong to have gone in for five Independent candidates at one go. Had the party shown some patience, it could have accommodated the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) in either Pathanamthitta or Kottayam and avoided Polit Bureau member M.A. Baby’s defeat. While P.K. Sainaba’s candidature in Malappuram was seen as a mishit, there was appreciation for the way the Independent candidate in Ponnani performed.
Some of the members were also critical of party State secretary Pinarayi Vijayan’s remarks about RSP candidate N.K. Premachandran. They said the remarks did not go down well with the voters, not just in Kollam but in other parts of the State as well. Mr. Vijayan, they felt, should have shown greater care when making such remarks. Signs of RSP’s impending departure from the alliance were available well before it actually happened. However, the party was unable to take note of it and take remedial action.
Some of the members also questioned the party leadership’s contention that the Congress and the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) gained from consolidation of minority votes. The situation varied from place to place. In some places, the minorities had actually rallied behind the LDF, they said. The State committee will conclude its discussions on Friday.
