Thiruvananthapuram, 11 May (H.S.):The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Monday said the Left Democratic Front’s defeat in the Kerala Assembly elections was a collective responsibility of the party leadership and not that of any single leader, amid criticism over the coalition’s election campaign and leadership projection.

Speaking to reporters after the conclusion of the CPM Politburo’s two-day meeting in New Delhi, CPM general secretary M.A. Baby said the party would undertake a detailed review of the electoral setback and initiate corrective measures at all organisational levels.

Baby clarified that senior CPM leader Pinarayi Vijayan alone could not be held responsible for the defeat, stressing that the party functions on the principle of collective leadership. He said Pinarayi Vijayan, being the senior-most member of both the Politburo and Central Committee, naturally occupied a leadership role and had led the LDF campaign during the elections.

The CPM leadership’s remarks come amid criticism from party sympathisers and sections of the Left camp who argued that the LDF’s campaign was excessively centred around Pinarayi Vijayan. Critics had also pointed to campaign posters, publicity material and billboards dominated by his image, alleging the emergence of a personality-centric political approach within the party.

Baby said the party would conduct self-criticism and introspection following the defeat and added that all committees within the CPM would discuss the results in detail. He also said the leadership would interact with party sympathisers and supporters to understand concerns and identify shortcomings in the campaign and organisational functioning.

The CPM general secretary admitted that corrective measures taken after previous electoral setbacks had not produced adequate results and said the party intended to adopt stronger measures this time.

He added that meetings of the CPM state secretariat and state committee would be held shortly, while the central leadership would meet again in the first week of June to continue discussions on the election outcome and the party’s future course of action.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman