Left parties review civic poll setback in Kerala, say flaws, if any, will be corrected

Thiruvananthapuram: Key constituents of Keralas's ruling Left, the CPI(M) and CPI on Monday acknowledged the need for a possible course-correction in their parties following the poor show in the just concluded civic polls, where their traditional rival Congress led its alliance to a decisive win while the BJP made surprising and significant inroads.

The two Left parties held top-level review meetings here on Monday to assess the flaws in their election strategy and the incumbent LDF government's policies.

The poll results had come as a shocker to the ruling dispensation months ahead of the 2026 general elections, where it is fancying a third term in a row since 2016.

LDF convener and CPI(M) leader T P Ramakrishnan said the reasons behind the public response to the Left Front in the elections would be examined.

"If there have been mistakes on our part, they will be corrected. Public opinion will be sought," he said.

He acknowledged that the BJP had gained votes in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, where the saffron party dislodged the LDF from power.

"We accept this fact and will take corrective measures," he said.

CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam told reporters that the LDF had suffered a defeat and that party committees were duty-bound to take the outcome seriously.

"The first phase of this process is the meetings being held on Monday. We will genuinely examine and identify flaws, if any, and move forward after correcting mistakes," he said.

Asserting that the Left front would make a comeback, Viswam said "Kerala's future will be the LDF." Noting that there was limited time left before the Assembly elections, he said necessary corrections would be identified and implemented swiftly.

"The strength of the LDF lies in taking corrective measures. If mistakes have occurred, we will not hesitate to accept them or rectify them. This is a communist value that the CPI, CPI(M) and all LDF parties uphold," he said.

The CPI has also appealed to party workers and the public to write to the leadership, highlighting issues and suggesting corrective steps.

Party MP P Santhosh Kumar said a campaign was carried out against the LDF over the alleged Sabarimala gold loss incident.

"Certain developments facilitated such a campaign. From an electoral perspective, it is a fact that this helped the (Congress-led) UDF by creating an ideological crisis," he said.

He said that although the Sabarimala issue (entry of women in to Lord Ayyappa temple) did not escalate as it did during 2018–19, the recent gold loss incident had some impact against the LDF during the elections.

"Even though we won the ward where Sabarimala is located, campaigns and songs linked to the incident raised questions in the public mind and likely affected the election outcome," Kumar added.