No signs of LDF revival in Kerala, CPI(M) leads in lone seat

As the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala reaches its final lap, the writing seems to be on the wall for the ruling CPI(M), which is leading only in one of the 20 seats in the state.

The results are a repeat of 2019 for the CPI(M), which won the Alappuzha seat, where this time senior Congress leader K C Venugopal has a massive lead over sitting MP A M Ariff. The party is set to win only in Alathur, where state minister K Radhakrishan is in the fray.

The result in Kerala for the CPI(M) is seen to have implications for it at the national level, and thus the party had fielded senior leaders like Politburo member A Vijayaraghavan in Palakkad, Rajya Sabha member Elamaram Kareem in Kozhikode and popular leader K K Shailaja in Vadakara.

Reacting to the party’s performance, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said, “The party and the government will examine every factor. We will look into whether corrections are required. We have not approached the election claiming that we are correct cent per cent.

Party insiders said it had never expected a pro-Congress wave in Kerala. Right from the outset, the party had claimed that the Congress-led UDF would not repeat its 2019 performance, but it failed to pose a formidable challenge.

The party, which is a part of the INDIA bloc with the Congress at the national level, was bitter in its attacks on the grand old party in Kerala.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan led the CPI(M)’s campaign, which was largely centred around “the Congress not taking a stand against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA)”. However, its support base saw erosion even in Muslim-dominated areas of North Kerala.

The CPI(M) was looking to repeat its 2004 performance, when the LDF had won 18 seats. In