Assembly poll campaign centred on single leader backfired; CPM state committee approves Central Committee report

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPM state committee has approved the party Central Committee's review report, which concluded that the Assembly election campaign's excessive focus on Pinarayi Vijayan had backfired.

The report said the campaign was designed mainly to secure another term for the LDF government by highlighting the government's development achievements. However, it noted that the party failed to effectively campaign on the CPM's political ideology, policies, and its approach towards minority communities.

The report also contains strong criticism of the state leadership over the party's election defeat and organisational shortcomings. According to the report, there were serious lapses in candidate selection in Thaliparamba and Payyannur, for which the state leadership was held responsible. It also said organisational weaknesses in several constituencies contributed to the party's poor performance, adding that grassroots committees failed to carry out election activities effectively.

PM SHRI scheme sparked internal differences
The Central Committee report also criticised the party's handling of the PM SHRI scheme controversy. According to the report, signing the agreement for the PM SHRI scheme created differences within the ruling front. It said the party did not handle the controversy properly, allowing the UDF to take political advantage of the internal dispute.

The report stated that the controversy contributed to the party's electoral setback. It also noted that the CPM Politburo had to intervene to resolve the issue. According to the report, the UDF used the controversy to campaign that the agreement was part of a political deal with the BJP.

Expanded state committee meeting from September 13
The CPM has also decided to hold an expanded state committee meeting in Kozhikode from September 13 to 15. Although the state secretariat had earlier proposed holding the meeting from September 11 to 13, the state committee revised the schedule. Area secretaries will not participate in the expanded state committee meeting. Instead, members of the district secretariats will attend.