Thiruvananthapuram, June 23 (IANS) In a rare candid assessment from within the CPI-M leadership, Central Committee member K.K. Shailaja has described the party’s defeat in the Kerala Assembly elections as a serious setback and warned that the Left cannot ignore the organisational and political challenges that have emerged.

In an article titled ‘A Comeback is Inevitable’ in the CPI-M’s ideological journal ‘Chintha’, Shailaja, a former state minister, said the defeat was not a routine electoral loss, as the Left suffered reverses even in its traditional strongholds.

She called for a comprehensive review of the last three election defeats and said corrective steps must be taken without delay.

Incidentally, Shailaja herself had to face successive defeats, with the first one coming at the 2024 Lok Sabha polls from the Vadakara seat and then when she was shunted out from her Mattannur assembly seat to neighbouring Peravoor when she lost to sitting Congress legislator Sunny Joseph.

“Even those who stood firmly with the Left have moved away. Though the problems were noticed, efforts were not made to resolve them,” she said, stressing that the behaviour, language and lifestyle of party leaders and workers needed introspection.

The LDF’s fall from 99 seats to 35 in the Assembly election was a major warning sign, she noted.

Several alliance partners failed to win even a single seat, and efforts must be made to rebuild their strength, she added.

Shailaja also termed the BJP winning three seats in Kerala a serious development.

She said the Left must examine vote erosion in its strongholds, where some traditional supporters had shifted due to misunderstandings, local issues and dissatisfaction. “Such people should be brought back.”

Shailaja also flagged a generational disconnect, saying the party had failed to communicate its achievements to the new generation.

A child who was eight years old in 2016 became a voter in 2026, but many young voters may not understand Kerala’s political journey and the role played by Left governments in social development, she said.

The former minister said the Left had not sufficiently adapted to changes in media and social media or approached the youth in a language they understood.

She defended the Left’s record in Kerala, saying decades of land reforms, public education, and healthcare initiatives had transformed society.

However, she acknowledged that the party had not been able to effectively convey these achievements.

Highlighting organisational weaknesses, Shailaja said party branches and local committees had shown signs of decline and that disciplined grassroots activity must be strengthened.

The CPI-M leader also warned against the rise of communal politics, saying the Left’s presence remained essential for protecting Kerala’s secular character.

Calling for honest self-correction and stronger engagement with people, she expressed confidence that the Left could return if it corrected mistakes, countered misinformation and rebuilt its connection with voters.

Shailaja was the Health Minister in the first Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet (2021-26), but to her dismay and to the surprise of many, did not find a place in the second Vijayan cabinet when the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front bucked the convention to return to power in 2021.

–IANS

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