NEW DELHI: CPI(M) has allegedly failed to balance governance with public satisfaction, as an official communication from the CPI has highlighted growing discontent among voters over the issue.
The ruling alliance of Left Democratic Front in Kerala is facing internal strain as its smaller alliance partners think that the principal ruling Communist Party of India Marxist CPI(M) led by the chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has been unable to strike a fair balance between “governance” and “public satisfaction”.
A left party leader privy to the developments said that an official message has been sent down by an office bearer of the Communist Party of India to its alliance partner CPI (M) about its failure to address people adequately. The leader added, “The people of the Kerala think that the CPI(M) leaders have become arrogant and are not listening to the public, due to which the electorate is slipping away from the party, and that was being communicated so that party contemplates on its actions and corrects itself before it is too late.
It is important, according to a leader, to mention that CPI(M) is heading the alliance and therefore, the onus of the degradation of left alliance’s image falls on the principal ruling party.
However, a member of parliament of the ruling alliance in Kerala, denied any emerging void between the LDF parties and said “Why will the two parties have any friction when they know that they have to contest the elections together and stand firmly against the United Democratic Front (led by Congress)? We are in pursuit of strengthening our alliance and chaff out all the shortcomings that are within our parties, which as a matter of fact, emerge naturally at times when the parties are focusing on governance. If there is any sort of neglect in the organisation, we will see to that and be ready before elections.” Moreover, Congress party leaders think there would be a change in the electoral space of Kerala after Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wins the Lok Sabha seat of Wayanad. After which, she would focus on strengthening the political and electoral front of the party in the state. An analyst said, “Her existence in the southern state could catapult the grand old party’s position and bring it to a better position to be able to wrest the power from the left.”
A CWC member said, “There seems to be a solid strategy in place from the Congress and that is, that Rahul Gandhi will focus on the North region and Priyanka Gandhi will try strengthening the party from the South.”
Another political analyst said, “There is a lot of dissatisfaction among people of Kerala against the ruling alliance, yet there are also some ground level surveys suggesting that they may retain the government in 2026 Assembly elections. One strong reason for this, is that there is no strong opposition leader who can be pitched against the current leadership.
After Oommen Chandy, we can say that Shashi Tharoor is popular but whether he will be made face of the United Democratic Front is still questionable. Yet, If Congress fights the elections strongly without letting internal tussles get in the way which would impact administrative functioning, there is a great chance that it could come back to power in the state.”