Not all minority voters deserted us in assembly polls, says CPI(M) Kozhikode district secretary

M. Mehboob, CPI(M) Kozhikode District Secretary

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) has not concluded that all voters from minority communities have abandoned the party and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the recent assembly elections, the party’s Kozhikode district secretary M. Mehboob said. He addressed the media here on Monday to talk about the extended district committee meeting scheduled to begin on Tuesday. However, Mr Mehboob admitted that a section of voters from these communities who had previously supported the Left may have voted against. The CPI(M) leader said this was the result of misleading campaigns undertaken by the LDF’s political rivals.

“In local polls and assembly elections, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) functioned as one and the same. There was a calculated campaign to discredit us. The Jamaat’s votes went completely against the LDF. Its workers also worked for the United Democratic Front (UDF), especially around Kozhikode, which has a high number of minority voters from Meshboobur,” he said. He also pointed to that though the LDF has the upper hand in Kozhikode, the UDF cannot be considered a small force in the district.

Mr. Mehboob’s comments were in response to questions related to the party’s and LDF’s poor performance in the Assembly elections. Of the 13 seats in the district, LDF could win only from Beypore. Meanwhile, when asked about the arrest of CPI(M) district secretariat member M Gireesh and Elathur branch member CP Jaleel during the 2024 Chevayur Bank elections, Mr Mehboob said there was no legal basis for the case. The arrests followed the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the alleged violence that took place during the elections. A. Pradeepkumar, CPI(M) state committee member, alleged that the UDF was using the SIT led by its loyal officers to target the LDF, just as the BJP-led Union government was using the enforcement directorate to root out opposition parties.

Published – 05 Oct 2026 16:13 IST