The humiliating defeat of the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in Kerala primarily reflects the failure of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his despotic tendencies, which neither the party leadership nor his cabinet colleagues kept in check or acknowledged as a vice.
Election Results 2026: A Wake-Up Call for CPM
The fall in the CPM's tally from 62 to 26 is not just a change in the order of numbers. It is a call for the CPM to put its house in order. The reduced number of seats the CPM won in the election poses multiple questions. Now, the Left has lost the only state in the country where it was in power for the past 10 years.
The usual practice of finding reasons for the defeat and closing the chapter with a somewhat hollow declaration to indulge in self-correction may not work anymore. Unless the CPM shuns hypocrisy and acknowledges that it was party cadres that failed its candidates in Payyannur and Taliparamba, it may not be able to make a meaningful correction.
Disconnect Between Cadres and Leadership
The fact that Vijayan was trailing in his own panchayat meant that cadres and CPM leaders were marching in opposite directions. Even its beneficiary ecosystem is not blindfolded as believed. Vijayan, who won in Dharmadom by a margin of over 50,000 votes in 2021, trailed against a young Congress candidate during the first six rounds of counting. The LDF's stark defeat dented his image as an invincible strongman.
Being the only face of the election campaign, Vijayan's leadership is set to come under scrutiny within the CPM in the coming days. "The verdict showed the grit of Malayali voters. They are not fools to believe PR exercises. It is a big no to Pinarayi Vijayan's ways," said political analyst Prof J Prabash.
UDF's Win and the Fear Factor
The UDF's win in the elections gives credence to the argument that it was fear psychosis that gripped a large section of the people following the back-to-back natural calamities and the outbreak of the pandemic that worked in favour of Vijayan in the 2021 assembly polls.
Mistaking the LDF's historic win in 2021 as the stamp of approval for the CM's authoritarian leadership, the LDF banked heavily on his strong leader image. The hundreds and thousands of huge billboards put up across Kerala ahead of the elections featured Vijayan's face in almost the same demeanour.
Need for Introspection and Realignment
The victory of rebel candidates should ideally prompt the party to indulge in an unbiased introspection and realign its focus back on Left politics rather than big-ticket projects and fancy titles and awards. When a handful of writers cautioned against the CPM retaining power, the party said they were not really Leftist.
When Youth Congress workers were beaten black and blue and they called the atrocities a rescue operation, the CM and CPM grossly underestimated the wit of Malayalis by playing chameleon on Sabarimala and turning a blind eye to scams. Now, the writing is on the wall. It is for the CPM to decide how to read it.
