Loses two polls in one assembly term, suffers huge defeat in own hometown too

M Swaraj is one of the most supported leaders of the young generation of CPM, which helms the Left movement in the state. Swaraj of Pothukal in Nilambur has already earned a big name among the left-minded youth of Kerala and the cultural world through his thoughts and clear statements.

The CPM has always been at the forefront of giving opportunities to new faces and like-minded people in elections. In the 2016 assembly elections, M Swaraj, who was the then DYFI state secretary, announced his arrival in Tripunithura by directly defeating senior Congress leader K Babu. In his maiden contest, he defeated Babu by 4467 votes. In the 2021 assembly elections, he also contested against Babu, but was defeated.

Four years later, there are hints that Swaraj, a member of the CPM state secretariat, was not interested in contesting in the first phase. However, there are reports that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan directly suggested his name to contest in Nilambur. Although he made speeches throughout the constituency, highlighting pension issue against the Congress, it is believed that none of them reached the people's minds.

Four assembly by-elections were held after the second Pinarayi government came to power. They were in Thrikkakara, Puthuppally, Palakkad and Chelakkara. In these, the Congress won everywhere except Chelakkara. It can be said that these constituencies belong to the Congress. It is also clear that Chelakkara, which was vacated by K Radhakrishnan, a Left constituency, but the fact that the LDF has been winning in Nilambur for the past nine years will make the CPM think about what to do next.

The Left campaigned in Nilambur stressing the welfare pension and the development projects of the Pinarayi government. However, the UDF sought votes by igniting their feelings against the government. Former MLA P V Anvar, who contested as an independent, campaigned against Pinarayism and highlighted the recent strong human-wildlife conflicts in the constituency.

When the LDF questioned the UDF's ties with Jamaat-e-Islami and was accused of PDP ties and Hindu Mahasabha support, it could not give a proper response. Moreover, with CPM state secretary M V Govindan also making controversial remarks about RSS ties, it can be assumed that all these things turned against the Left in the elections. Meantime, the fact is that M Swaraj, who suffered two defeats in five years, will have to work harder to improve his image in parliamentary politics and within the party.