CPM does a self-critical review of electoral debacle

The Hindu : National : CPI(M) State Committee reviews debacle

The reasons behind the reverses suffered by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in West Bengal in last month’s Lok Sabha elections were discussed at a meeting of the party’s State Committee here on Thursday

It is almost a month since the election verdict. N.Ram came out with a few editorials on reasons for Congress' success and BJP's failure. He dared not assess the performance of his favourite party. So, we ignorant proletariat remain ignorant. Let us venture out to hear the verdict analysis from the horse' mouth itself.

Those Writing the Epitaph of the CPI (M) will be Proved Wrong: Prakash Karat | Vote for CPI(M)

What is the meaning of this verdict? How is it to be interpreted?

This is particularly significant since it shows no reversal in the long term decline of the two parties. The non-Congress, non-BJP parties continue to have more than 50 per cent share of the vote.

Always trust the communists to come up with self-contradictory, absurd logic. Later on, Prakash Karat tells us that people rejected Third Front because they chose between the two major parties.

The people have rejected the BJP's claim of providing good governance and defending national security. What they saw in the election campaign was the recurrence of communal rhetoric and the ingrained penchant for communalising all problems including terrorism.

Karat could have written this even before the election results were out. Because no matter what the verdict is, he would have come up with the same explanation. Read Kanchan Gupta's excellent article to understand the politics surrounding BJP's manifesto.

The third point to understand the verdict is that despite the neo-liberal predilections of the Congress-led government, some of the measures adopted have had a positive impact on the people. These are the NREGA ... and some such measures, many of whom were brought under the pressure of the Left parties.

Karat is in a self-congratulatory mood for Congress' victory. What can I say.

The CPI (M) and the Left have suffered a serious setback with the losses in West Bengaland Kerala. ... This calls for a serious examination of the causes for these reverses. We have to conduct a self-critical review to ascertain what are the factors which are responsible for this poor performance.

Both national and state level factors have to be analysed. The electoral-tactical line formulated by the Party at the national level and the national political situation which influenced the Lok Sabha polls must be studied. Alongwith that, the specific state factors in both West Bengal and Kerala must also be taken into account.

Obviously, Karat has no clear answers to reasons for CPM's failure. Every damn thing on earth needs to be analysed now. With Karat not providing any clear direction, our esteemed editor-in-chief and his subservient journalist staff were left to fend for themselves. They chose to wait for instructions rather display great valor through independent analysis.

The serious setback by Third Front is elaborated by Karat and also in an earlier CPM Politburo communique.

The Left parties had allied with certain non-Congress, non-BJP parties in various states. This was required so that a secular electoral alternative emerged. However, these alliances forged in some states on the eve of the elections were not seen by the people as a credible and viable alternative at the national level.

Aah! So it is the people, you see. They just don't understand.

The summary of CPM's election verdict is this:

Congress - Won because of Left policies
BJP         - Lost because of communalism
Left         - Lost because of people

Left gets credit for every success and people get blamed for Left's failure. You can expect more such "self-critical" analysis during the ongoing CPM review of the debacle. You don't even need to be tuned in because Chindu will make sure you can't miss the message.