Kerala’s ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M) has asked its cadres to begin a mass contact program later this month to reach out to the common man as part of its efforts to regain its lost ground in the state, according to people aware of the matter.
After a three-day brain-storming in New Delhi on July 4, the CPI (M)’s Central Committee concluded that the disconnect of its cadres with the party’s supporters like youths, working class, and minority had done the damage, they added.
The panel found the anger over the implementation of the Supreme Court’s verdict allowing women of all ages to pray at the Sabarimala Temple was another factor for the party’s drubbing, according to the people cited above.
The CPI (M)-led Left Democratic Front managed to win just one out of Kerala’s 20 seats in the April-May national polls. Kerala is the party’s last bastion in the country after its loss of power in West Bengal and Tripura. The Congress and its allies won the remaining 19 seats in Kerala. The CPI (M) has asked its cadres to participate in social and humanitarian activities to win back the lost ground, the people said.