CPI(M) begins probe into poll defeats in Kozhikode

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] has begun a probe into the defeat of the party’s candidates in the Kozhikode and Vadakara Lok Sabha constituencies.

The State committee of the party has constituted two-member committees in both the constituencies for the purpose. The panel for Kozhikode comprises Elamaram Karim and A. Pradeepkumar, both MLAs. The panel for Vadakara has A.K. Balan, MLA, and M.V. Jayarajan, State committee member of the party.

A senior party functionary said here on Tuesday that the panels would submit their reports to the State committee within a stipulated time after holding discussions with the leaders in each Assembly segment.

Earlier an informal inquiry by the district committee had attributed the defeat of A. Vijayaraghavan and A.N. Shamsheer in the Kozhikode and Vadakara Lok Sabha constituencies respectively to the shift in the party’s vote share to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the wake of the aggressive campaign by its Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. This resulted in the Congress nominees M.K. Raghavan and Mullappally Ramachandran retaining the seats in Kozhikode and Vadakara respectively. Besides, the presence of smaller parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party and the Social Democratic Party of India and the votes received by None Of The Above (NOTA) in both the constituencies upset the calculations of the party.

The voting pattern seen in Kozhikode city, Elathur, Koduvally, and Kunnamangalam Assembly segments revealed that religious groups favoured the Congress candidate in Kozhikode, the party functionary said.

In Vadakara, except in the Assembly segments of Thalassery and Koothuparamba in Kannur district, Mr. Shamsheer could not secure the expected leads in the five Assembly segments in Kozhikode district. A section of the local-level leaders felt that the outsider tag on Mr. Shamsheer might have spoiled his chances, he said.