CPM central committee rejects claim that election defeat was due to loss of community votes; criticism in Sitaram Yechury's report

NEW DELHI/ALAPPUZHA: The CPM central committee meeting which began yesterday in Delhi rejected the stand of the Kerala unit of the party, which judged the LDF's defeat in the parliamentary elections based on caste and religion. The report presented by General Secretary Sitaram Yechury also criticized the finding that not receiving the expected support from Ezhava, Backward and Dalit groups is what led to the heavy defeat.

Meanwhile, the Alappuzha District Secretariat also came forward to severely criticize the remarks made by the CPM leaders against SNDP Yogam General Secretary Vellapalli Natesan in connection with the defeat. The general feeling in the meeting was that the state secretary's remarks against Vellappally were unfortunate and that a spat with Vellappally, a leader of a dominant community, would harm the party.

Yechury's report pointed out that the assessment of the Kerala component, which blamed the backlash on the Congress and the BJP, was incorrect. The findings of the report are that the basic vote of the party has been leaked, including in the power centres. There was a failure in the implementation of the government's welfare activities. Yechury rejected the Kerala unit's contention that the Congress has gained acceptance in Kerala as a party that directly opposes the BJP at the national level, which became a setback for the CPM. Yechury also criticized the position that the party becoming a part of the Congress-dominated 'India' front was a setback.

Was Vellappally the cause of vote leakage in Malabar?

H Salam at the Alappuzha District Secretariat asked whether the leakage of votes in Malabar was due to Vellappally. PP Chittaranjan and Backward Development Corporation Chairman K Prasad supported. Votes of all sections were lost, not of any particular community. There was also criticism that the main reason for the defeat was the failure of the government. Arrogance unsuitable for a working-class party and the serious failure of welfare programs made the party unpopular. Finance and health departments were criticized as complete failures by pointing out the ministers.