The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) has reportedly launched an intra-party exercise to probe, allegedly with a fine-toothed comb, the reasons for the political bloodbath of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the 2026 assembly elections, as it seemed to dawn on the leadership that there is no magic bullet to resolve the historic defeat.
The debilitating runoff, especially in the party’s strongholds of Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur, Kasaragod and Alappuzha, among others, has raised some big questions about the CPI(M)’s campaign strategy, organizational cohesion, finalization of candidates and the effectiveness of its political operations, including whether the “inappropriate term third power has caused mistrust” of the party’s complacent electioneering from the booth level up.
Published – 05 May 2026 21:19 IST
