THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A big split in the backward, Muslim vote bank that paved the way for the second Pinarayi government in the 2021 assembly elections was the major reason for the heavy setback that led the LDF to winning only one seat.

There are complaints that the backward and scheduled communities have faced severe neglect during the three years of LDF rule. Even when allegations were raised that the Muslim community had received undue benefits, it did not turn into LDF votes. The results indicate that most of the constituencies have seen Muslims and Christian groups who supported the Left, vote for the UDF to prevent a third term of the Modi government at the Centre.

While the Attingal constituency, where the CPM was assured of victory, was lost by a narrow margin, the party faced a heavy defeat in Alappuzha, Palakkad, Vadakara and Kannur seats. The UDF candidates won by a margin of over one lakh votes in Vadakara and Kannur and won Palakkad with a majority of three-quarters of a lakh votes and Alappuzha by over 60,000 votes. These are constituencies where the Ezhava community has significant influence. Suresh Gopi's victory in Thrissur, V Muraleedharan's third position in Attingal with more than three lakh votes, and Shobha Surendran's surprise advance in Alappuzha were also the result of the Ezhava vote being leaked from the CPM. The support of the backward classes, including the Ezhavas, proved decisive in UDF's Shashi Tharoor's victory after a close fight with BJP's Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Rage of youth

Anti-government sentiment has also been created by the youth over rampant back-door contractual appointments in government semi-government institutions, government schools, etc. by making PSC rank lists and employment exchanges useless and subverting reservation. When party leaders take letters from district secretaries and give jobs to their loved ones in temporary vacancies in government hospitals, municipal councils, etc., youth who are deserving but unable to do so are left behind.

Party lost control over administration and organization

If the CPM leadership had earlier served as a corrective force in controlling the Left governments, today it has lost that control. The criticism is that the situation is not different in the case of youth and student organisations. Rampant violence of SFI members that turned college campuses into their own empires alienated students and parents from the party. The party leadership either condoned the aggressors or remained silent. The last of these was the suicide of Siddharth, a student of Pookod Veterinary College.