CPM Central Committee reviews vote share decline in Kerala, identifies shift to BJP

NEW DELHI: The assessment of the CPM Central Committee is that there has been a crack in the foundation of the party in Kerala and the basic votes have flowed to the BJP in many places.

The main reason for the defeat is the public sentiment that only the Congress can face the BJP at the centre. The suspension of social welfare pensions backfired due to the central government's fiscal squeeze. At the same time BJP-RSS activities were done using temples and religious and social organizations. Central schemes were used to penetrate certain communities. The party could not stop it. These matters will be corrected on priority.

The central committee's review report, while calling it self-criticism, has put forward suggestions for correction. Such behaviours and bad trends should be stopped.

In 2019, the vote share of the party was 35.10 percent, which has reduced to 33.35 percent this time. A decrease of 1.75 percent. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the vote share was 40.2 percent. 7 percent drop in votes over ten years. UDF has grown at a rate of 3.98 percent in ten years.

The NDA front has increased its vote share by 3.64 percent over 2019. If you look at the ten-year figure, there has been a double growth. It was 10.08 percent in 2014 and 19.2 percent this time. Suresh Gopi's victory in Thrissur was due to the votes of a section of the Congress' core voters, a section of Christians. It is a fact that the core votes of CPM also went to BJP in many places. This was evident in Atingal and Alappuzha.

Criticism of meeting

CPM Central Committee assessed that the SNDP Yoga leadership worked in favour of the BJP. Jamaat-e-Islami and SDPI joined forces with the Muslim League and launched a fierce campaign against the LDF. A section of the Christian Church favoured the BJP. BJP is taking advantage of the growing anti-Muslim sentiment among Christians. Church leaders were influenced and threatened.

No Muslim appeasement

The party's approach to the Muslim community is based on secular democracy. Not Muslim appeasement. In this regard, the SNDP meeting is playing a suspicious role. The Central Committee also suggested that the party should take appropriate steps to expose this.