Kochi, April 6: With passage of time and fluctuating ideologies of people, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM has acknowledged that party’s growth is on a downfall trend and has grown only in Kerala while lessened its base in other stronghold states.
A report, which will be presented at the 23rd Party Congress of the CPI(M), said there was a general decline in the strength of the party across the country and it was facing the most challenging situation since its inception in 1964.
The 23rd Party Congress of the CPI(M) started today at Kannur and would conclude on April 10.
The Communist however admitted that its mishandling of Sabarimala temple issue has cost dear to the party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In the report, the CPI(M) underlined that the LDF government standing by the Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala temple allowing women of all ages to enter the temple “alienated a section of its traditional voters”.
The state government literally supported a group to breach the established tradition of Lord Ayyappa’s temple in Sabarimala. Soon after the election, the CPM realised the blunder and opposed the decision that helped the party to retain power in Kerala for the second consecutive term last year.
“Two out of the three strong bases of the party West Bengal and Tripura are under severe attack and there has been erosion in our mass base and influence. There is a general decline in strength of the party all over the country, with the exception of Kerala,” the report said.
The Lok Sabha elections of April-May 2019 resulted in the worst ever election performance of the CPI(M) as it could win only three seats and garner only 1.77 per cent of the vote share, the report added. It pointed out that around half of the party’s members are from Kerala. Further, the party membership has fallen from 10,25,352 as estimated in the 2017 Party Congress to 9,85,757 in 2022.
The report is expected to be placed before the Congress on Friday.
(SOURCE- EXTERNAL INPUTS)
