Kozhikode: The CPM’s extended Kerala State Committee meeting began in Kozhikode on Sunday, with the party launching a three-day exercise to examine the reasons for its Assembly election defeat and identify organisational and political course corrections.
CPM General Secretary M A Baby, who inaugurated the meeting at the AKG Auditorium at the party’s district committee office, said the party should have no hesitation in acknowledging and correcting its mistakes.
“The party may commit wrongs, and it will agree that it has made mistakes. The party also does many good things, but mistakes may occur in the process. Those mistakes will be corrected, and there should be no hesitation in doing so,” Baby said.
He also criticised those who frequently target the CPM for its mistakes, pointing out that those critics too commit mistakes.
Baby said a “false narrative” against the party and its leadership had been in circulation in Kerala since the first Communist government led by E M S Namboodiripad came to power in 1957, especially during Vimochana Samaram and that the narrative continued to persist in the state.
The extended meeting is expected to focus on the election review prepared through a grassroots-level consultation process.
The report, prepared based on this feedback, organisational discussions and Central Committee guidelines, was discussed and approved by the State Committee and will form the basis of the deliberations.
There are reports that State Committee members will not participate in the discussions specifically dealing with the election review report. The reported arrangement has drawn attention as the party seeks to assess its functioning from the grassroots and identify shortcomings that contributed to the electoral setback.
A key question before the party is why the achievements of 10 years of LDF rule failed to translate into votes. The CPM is also expected to examine the gap between growing party membership and its mass influence.
The party is likely to look into the erosion of support among sections of the Muslim community. A major section of Muslim voters did not support the Left in the Assembly election, and the meeting is expected to consider how the CPM can regain their trust and strengthen its political engagement with the community.
The BJP’s emergence as a three-seat force in Kerala is another issue expected to figure prominently in the discussions.
The three-day meeting will conclude on September 15 with a rally and public meeting at Kozhikode beach.
