CPI(M) defeat in Keralam Assembly polls not due to single factor, says A. Vijayaraghavan

Senior CPI(M) leader A Vijayaraghavan on Friday said the party’s defeat in the Keralam Assembly election could not be attributed to any single factor, with the leadership examining organisational, administrative, political and social aspects.

Speaking to reporters here, Mr Vijayaraghavan said the party had conducted a comprehensive assessment of the election results, beginning at the grassroots level, following which the State Committee and Central Committee reviewed the findings.

He said the exercise was not intended to put any individual in the dock.

“For a State like Keralam, the CPI(M) should have achieved a much better electoral performance. We examined the multifaceted reasons why that did not happen,” he said.

Mr. Vijayaraghavan said the defeat could not be reduced to whether the leadership or the cadre was responsible.

“The election failure is not merely limited to issues that need to be shared between the cadre and the leadership. There can be social factors, financial factors, administrative factors and political factors behind an election defeat. The defeat is tied to all these elements,” he said.

Asked whether there had been a failure on the part of the cadre, Mr. Vijayaraghavan said the leadership and the grassroots were part of the same organisation.

“A party is defined by the relationship between its leadership and the grassroots level. You see the cadre as something separate, but that’s not how it is,” he said.

However, he acknowledged an organisational shortcoming in mobilising people behind the party’s political line. “Our party has a position. The party’s job is to rally the people behind that position. There was an organisational shortcoming in mobilising enough people behind the party line,” he said.

“That shortcoming cannot be called a flaw in the party’s position itself. It is a combination of all these factors,” he added.

He said the State Committee and the Central Committee had formally examined the election results and recorded their assessment.

Criticises media

Mr. Vijayaraghavan also criticised sections of the media for “focusing on whether the defeat was the result of the failure of particular leaders.”

He alleged that certain media outlets aligned with the right-wing front were taking statements out of context and attempting to turn them into an anti-CPI(M) campaign.