An election review by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has purportedly concluded that a large section of progressive members of the Nair community had thrown in their lot with the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the 2021 Assembly elections.
The reviewers reportedly felt that they had rejected the patently anti-LDF stance of the Nair Service Society (NSS) leadership.
The CPI(M) report also ostensibly blamed the NSS for providing ammunition to the United Democratic Front (UDF) to disadvantage the LDF by playing up the Sabarimala issue electorally and calling for a regime change on the day of the voting.
Nevertheless, the CPI(M) had steered clear of a confrontation with the NSS leadership. Its non-confrontational stance appeared to have paid off politically in the elections.
In contrast, the SNDP Yogam did not strike an anti-LDF stance. Moreover, Bharath Dharma Jana Sena votes gravitated from the Bharatiya Janata Party to the LDF kitty. The National Democratic Alliance’s vote shared dipped commensurately.
The Indian Union Muslim League had worked in conjunction with the Jamaat-e-Islami to alienate the Muslim community from the LDF. But the Kerala Muslim Jama-ath led by Grand Mufti Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobaker Musiliar had countered the bid effectively.
The Kerala Congress(M) inclusion in the LDF helped erode the UDF’s base among Christians in Travancore. Primarily, the LDF’s governance track record authored the win.
The CPI(M) reviewers urged the party to devise a strategy to retard the BJP’s growing influence among Hindu voters in Thiruvananthapuram district, particularly in Chirayinkeezhu and Varkala taluks.
They reportedly spotlighted the party being pushed to third place in Palakkad in the Assembly polls. The LDF also failed to surge ahead in Ernakulam district. The CPI(M) highlighted the failure of M. Swaraj in Thripunithura and J. Mercykutty Amma in Kundara.
By one account, the report pointed out that some leaders who were denied seats had spitefully stayed off the election campaign trail.
When asked about the review, CPI(M) acting State secretary A. Vijayaraghavan: “These matters which are trickling out into the public domain now were deliberated in detail by the party already.”
He said the Communist Party of India would review Annie Raja’s statement on matters regarding the State police.
