5 min readThiruvananthapuramUpdated: Jul 28, 2026 03:44 PM IST
In a review of this year’s Assembly election in Kerala, the CPI(M) central committee said that weaving the election campaign just around former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, not putting enough emphasis on political messaging, and the “impression that we are soft towards Hindutva communal forces” were among the factors that led to the party losing power after a rare two consecutive terms in government.
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) saw its voteshare drop from 44.44% in 2021 to 37.44% this year, and the CPI(M), which leads the alliance, recorded a voteshare of 21.77%, its lowest in 40 years. While the LDF won 99 of 140 seats in the last election, this year, it could only muster 35. The CPI(M) itself saw its seats fall from 64 to 26.
The party’s central committee on Tuesday published a report on its dismal performance.
“The focus of the campaign on development and welfare, without putting politics to the fore, was not effective. We should never forget that unless we integrate development and welfare policies with a political campaign against neoliberal and corporate-communal policies, we cannot expect the people to support us,” the report said.
It suggested that cadres should be revitalised and the party should reconnect with its base through sustained struggles on people’s issues.
To regain its support base, the review said the party should strengthen its strong points, accept mistakes and rectify them. “It is only by taking up the livelihood problems of the people and leading the struggles on the attacks launched by the UDF (Congress-led United Democratic Front) and BJP governments on the toiling masses, that we can regain the trust of the basic classes and win back people’s support.”
Candidate selection
Regarding the selection of candidates, including at CPI(M) strongholds of Taliparamba and Payyannur, where rebels won with Congress support, the review said, “The top leadership of the state committee, who were involved in these decisions, failed to assess the adverse impact of such decisions and react immediately to address these issues. So, the main responsibility related to the choice of candidates in certain constituencies and the issue of not having enough women, minorities or youth cannot be put on the district committees alone. The state leadership should own up to this responsibility.”
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Parliamentary opportunism has emerged as a trend within the party, the report said, adding, “The defeat of party candidates in the three traditional bases of the party shows the gap that has developed between the leadership and the rank and file, and the resultant erosion in our mass base. It is necessary to fight against parliamentary deviation within the party and to take urgent steps to bridge the gap between the leadership at various levels and the party membership and rectify our style of functioning.”
Referring to the campaign having been centred around Vijayan, the report said, “A narrative was prevalent that the entire campaign revolved around one person, Vijayan, who led the government with efficiency. By personalising the campaign and centring it around Vijayan, we unwittingly gave an opportunity to the UDF to conduct a targeted campaign against him. Consequently, we lost the political initiative to expose the reactionary, ruling class bias of the Congress party and the UDF.”
Minority voters
The review also said the claims that the CPI(M) had a secret deal with the BJP could not be effectively countered. This had an adverse impact among minority voters and led to a section of them being weaned away from the LDF, it said.
The report said the party should have avoided reading a message by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at the Global Ayyappa Sangamam organised by the LDF government last year. “Reading out the message of the UP Chief Minister, an avowed Hindutva fanatic, was a major embarrassment to the party’s secular image and had an adverse impact on our election campaign. It was perplexing how a message was solicited from the UP CM and how a party minister agreed to read it out. Such an act sent a wrong message to the people and conveyed an impression that we are soft towards Hindutva communal forces,” the report said.
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Alleged anti-Muslim remarks by Ezhava community leader Vellappally Natesan, who was seen as being aligned with the CPI(M), and statements made by some CPI(M) leaders about this controversy also contributed towards further alienation of minorities, the review said.
“All these mistakes taken together were used to create a wrong impression that our party is compromising in its fight against communalism,” it said.
