Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) State Secretary MV Govindan and party leadership at various levels came under sharp attack on the party’s state secretariat, which was supposed to take stock of the massive Left Front shake-up in the just-concluded elections.
As part of an exercise launched to identify the organizational and functional errors of the party and front that led to the unfavorable result, members of the State Secretariat resolved to meet again on May 12, followed by the 13th.
CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby said the party would analyze the shabby defeat to make necessary corrections. Party forums at various levels will listen to their immediate lower units, down to the branch, grassroots level of the CPI(M), as part of an intensive and self-critical process of scrutiny.
Organizational changes
While frustrated party workers and sympathizers demanded immediate organizational changes on social media and through posters, any change would only be made at the end of this self-examination, one senior official said.
Some of the leaders The Hindu spoke to were enthused by the unfettered, candid views raised at the meeting. But at the district level, many leaders refused to be so optimistic, pointing out that committees are filled with careerists and toads. “At least some of those trying to solve the problem are blind to their own complicity in it,” quipped one senior official.
While there was no discussion as to who would be the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, some said Politburo member and caretaker chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan would take over the role.
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) constituents, who met in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday, also decided to conduct a micro-level assessment to identify the factors that led to the front’s poor performance in the elections.
Constituent parties
LDF convener TP Ramakrishnan said that all LDF constituent party units will conduct a detailed analysis of the failure by June 15. After receiving the assessment of the constituent parties, the LDF will meet by the end of June to gauge public opinion in the state and take necessary decisions accordingly.
The LDF will listen not only to the reactions of political party workers but also to people from different walks of life, including those who are not in the LDF, because people are important, he said. At present, LDF does not hold the view that there has been a minority consolidation against LDF along with anti-establishment in the elections, he said.
On the face of it, the alliance has failed to gauge the mood at the grassroots level, said a leader of the LDF component. Asked about the Leader of the Opposition, he said that none other than Mr. Vijayan fit the bill in the prevailing political situation and in view of the minuscule strength of the alliance in the Assembly. “Moreover, there is also a three-member BJP bloc,” he added.
Published – 7 May 2026 10:00 PM IST
