Thiruvananthapuram, May 19 (IANS). For the first time after the crushing defeat of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the Kerala Assembly elections, former Chief Minister and current Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan has reacted publicly. His statement has come at a time when the voices of dissatisfaction and rebellion within the Communist Party of India (Marxist) i.e. CPM are becoming increasingly louder.
Addressing a party program organized in his home district Kannur on Tuesday, Vijayan said that in the last 10 years, the Left government implemented many welfare and developmental schemes to take Kerala forward. He said that the government did important work in areas like health, education, waste management and safety of women and children.
Vijayan said, “We completely accept the decision of the people. We do not say that only we can do this work. If the new government works for the public welfare, we will support it, but if the path is wrong, we will also oppose. No one should consider this as the end of LDF or CPM. We will come back stronger.”
This is believed to be his first direct public reaction after the election results on May 4. In the elections, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) won an overwhelming majority by winning 102 seats.
LDF, which was dreaming of creating history by returning to power for the third consecutive time, had to be reduced to just 35 seats. At the same time, BJP also registered its presence in the assembly by winning three seats.
Vijayan had almost completely disappeared from public after the election results were announced. He made only a brief social media post a few days after the loss. There were continuous discussions in the political circles regarding his long silence and criticism was also increasing within the party.
Vijayan’s statement is also being considered important because these days there are reports of unprecedented resentment against him in CPM’s district committee review meetings across Kerala.
According to sources, many leaders have accused Vijayan’s working style of being arrogant and cut off from common workers. Some leaders cited excessive centralization of power and alienation of the leadership from the common people and party workers as the major reasons for the election defeat.
It is being told that in some meetings, demands were also raised to remove Vijayan from the post of Leader of Opposition, while State Secretary M.V. Govindan was also demanded to resign, taking responsibility for the defeat.
In such an environment, Vijayan’s statement of “strong comeback” is not only being considered as an attempt to boost the morale of his supporters, but it is also being seen as a signal to maintain his hold and leadership within the party.
–IANS
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