The Communist Party of India (Marxist) central committee review report on the party's dismal performance and eventual loss in the Kerala Assembly elections identified the alienation of the Muslim community as one of the key factors, along with Pinarayi Vijayan-focused campaigns instead of integrating development and welfare policies with political messaging, the failure of the state committee to approve the right candidates without assessing the ground realities, and the allegation that the party was soft on Hindutva.
The review, released on Tuesday, examined the reasons behind the Left Democratic Front's (LDF) dramatic decline in its vote share, with the alliance's vote share falling from 44.44 per cent in 2021 to 37.44 per cent, while the CPI(M)'s own vote share slipped to 21.77 per cent, its lowest in four decades. The LDF’s tally plunged from 99 seats in the previous Assembly to just 35, with the CPI(M) itself reduced from 64 seats to 26.
According to the report, the erosion of vote share, particularly the Muslim vote, has been directly linked to its failure to counter the allegation that the party is soft on Hindutva and its alleged links with the BJP, which was further strengthened by reading the message of the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, a known Hindutva fanatic, at the Global Ayyappa Sangamam and entertaining and even justifying the communal vitriol of SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan.
The report said that the responses expressed by some leaders justifying Natesan's communally charged remarks had also had an adverse impact on its longstanding secular image, fostering the impression that the party was becoming accommodative towards Hindutva communal forces.
The report also found that the party's campaign, which excessively emphasised the government's development and welfare record, had not worked well among the public, as the absence of its ideological and political opposition to neoliberal economic policies and corporate-communal politics was not effectively conveyed to them, underlining that projecting welfare measures alone could not gain public support if they were not integrated with a broader political campaign.
The state leadership's failure in choosing the right candidates for the election was also subjected to scrutiny, with the report observing that the state committee failed to anticipate the adverse impact of its decisions in several constituencies, including traditional party bastions such as Taliparamba and Payyannur, where rebel party comrades won with the backing of the Congress party.
The report also said that responsibility for the choices of the candidates rested not only with district committees but also with the state leadership, which failed to adequately assess ground political realities and ensure better representation of women, minorities and younger candidates.
The report further found that the campaign’s focus on Vijayan allowed the United Democratic Front to personalise its attacks against him, thereby diverting attention from broader political issues and enabling the Opposition to seize the initiative.