Kerala Lok Sabha Results Need in-Depth Introspection: CPI (M) Politburo

Although it's a Left Democratic Front (LDF) led government in Kerala, of the total 20 Lok Sabha seats in the State, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) bagged 18 seats, while the CPI (M) and BJP won one seat each. BJP opening an account in the Left ruled State has worried the former.

New Delhi:Expressing disappointment over the poor performance of CPI (M) in Kerala in the recently held Lok Sabha elections, the party politburo has decided to do an in-depth introspection over the issue.

“The in-depth introspection will be undertaken by the party based on the reviews conducted by the respective state party units,” said CPI (M) politburo after its meeting in New Delhi.

The reasons for the setback for the LDF as well as the BJP opening account in Kerala need to be deeply examined and necessary corrective measures would be taken, a senior party functionary told ETV Bharat on Monday.

Of the 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) bagged 18 seats, while the CPI (M) and BJP won one seat each.

The politburo, however, claimed that the Left parties have marginally improved their presence in the Lok Sabha with eight MPs (CPI(M) 4, CPI 2, CPI (ML) 2.

The politburo further stated that the results of the elections to the 18th Lok Sabha constitute a significant setback for the BJP. “The people asserting their defence of the Constitution and the secular democratic character of the republic have deprived the BJP of a majority it had secured in the last two Lok Sabha elections of 2014 and 2019. Having campaigned to reach a figure of 400 plus, the BJP’s tally is now 240 seats, 63 fewer than the 303 seats it held in the outgoing Lok Sabha. This is over a 20 per cent reduction. The BJP is now 32 seats short of a majority on its own. However, with its allies winning an additional 52 seats, the NDA has 292 seats, which is 20 more than the required majority,” the politburo said.

It said that the INDIA bloc parties have together won 234 seats, 38 seats short of a majority. “ECI data shows that all the constituencies of the NDA put together secured 43.31 per cent of the votes polled. The constituents of the INDIA bloc got 41.69 per cent. The difference in vote share between both the combinations is less than two per cent,” the politburo said.

The party claimed that these elections were held amid widespread attacks on the opposition parties, brazen misuse of Central agencies and massive use of money power. “The run-up to the elections saw two Chief Ministers jailed and bank accounts of political parties like the Congress and CPI (M) (in one district in Kerala) frozen.

Opposition parties like the NCP and the Shiv Sena were targeted and split through the use of money power and threats and intimidation by Central agencies. The BJP resorted to all sorts of political manoeuvres to divide the opposition and succeeded in wooing back the JD (U) to the NDA fold,” the politburo said.

It said that the results would have been more adverse for the BJP and the NDA if the Election Commission had ensured a level playing field.

“The Election Commission’s role was complicit in advancing the BJP’s agenda. Its abject failure, in fact, refusal to curb the inflammatory communal rhetoric of Modi and many BJP leaders rendered the Model Code of Conduct infructuous. Its initial reluctance to disclose the data on votes polled raised suspicions of manipulation, which severely undermined the standing of this Constitutional authority,” the party said.

The politburo said that INDIA bloc parties focused on the issues of people’s livelihood, such as unemployment, price rise and agrarian distress apart from highlighting the threats to our Constitution, democracy and civil liberties.

“The massive struggles conducted by all sections of people on their livelihood issues, especially the Kisan struggles, significantly contributed to the results. In the farming belts in five states of Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and Western UP, BJP lost 38 of its sitting seats,” the politburo said.