Thiruvananthapuram | Key constituents of Kerala's ruling Left, the CPI(M) and CPI, on Monday acknowledged the need for a possible course correction in their parties following the poor show in the just concluded civic polls in which their traditional rival Congress led its alliance to a decisive win while the BJP made surprising and significant inroads.
The two Left parties held top-level review meetings here on Monday to assess the flaws in their election strategy and the incumbent LDF government's policies.
The poll results had come as a shocker to the ruling dispensation months ahead of the 2026 general elections, where it is fancying a third term in a row since 2016.
LDF convener and CPI(M) leader T P Ramakrishnan said the reasons behind the public response to the Left Front in the elections would be examined.
"If there have been mistakes on our part, they will be corrected. Public opinion will be sought," he said.
He acknowledged that the BJP had gained votes in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, where the saffron party dislodged the LDF from power.
"We accept this fact and will take corrective measures," he said.
CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said that a close examination of the local body election results showed that the support base of the LDF remained intact and that the front was capable of winning the 2026 Assembly elections.
“It cannot be said that any section of people has shifted away from us, as we secured around 10 lakh votes in Malappuram. The LDF has received a good number of votes from all sections,” he said.
He said an in-depth analysis of the LDF’s performance was needed, particularly in central Kerala districts and Malappuram, where the front suffered setbacks.
Referring to the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation results, Govindan said the LDF secured about 1.70 lakh votes, compared to 1.60 lakh votes polled by the BJP and 1.25 lakh votes by the UDF.
Govindan said a closer look at the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation results showed that in 41 wards won by the BJP, the UDF had polled fewer than 1,000 votes.
“This indicates an understanding between the UDF and the BJP to defeat the LDF here. I have said earlier that there were both open and covert moves to enable the BJP’s victory in Thiruvananthapuram,” he alleged.
He said the party intended to take corrective measures and move forward.
“As part of this, district secretariats and committees will meet to evaluate the election outcome at the level of each panchayat, area and district. Corrective steps will then be taken based on the party’s decisions,” he said.
Downplaying the BJP’s results, Govindan cited Panthalam municipality,
which the BJP had governed in the previous term but is captured by the LDF this time.
“Another major agenda of the BJP was to win so-called temple cities. However, we retained temple cities such as Kodungallur,” he said.
Ruling out any anti-incumbency factor reflected in the election results, Govindan said there would be an LDF government 3.0 in 2026.
Asked whether the alleged Sabarimala gold loss case had any impact on the elections, he said that if such a factor had existed, the BJP would have registered a much bigger victory.
“Despite running a false communal campaign, the BJP could not make any major gains. However, we will examine all factors,” he added.
CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam told media that the LDF had suffered a defeat and that party committees were duty-bound to take the outcome seriously.
"The first phase of this process is the meetings being held on Monday. We will genuinely examine and identify flaws, if any, and move forward after correcting mistakes," he said.
Asserting that the Left front would make a comeback, Viswam said, "Kerala's future will be the LDF."
Noting that there was limited time left before the Assembly elections, he said necessary corrections would be identified and implemented swiftly.
"The strength of the LDF lies in taking corrective measures. If mistakes have occurred, we will not hesitate to accept them or rectify them. This is a communist value that the CPI, CPI(M) and all LDF parties uphold," he said.
The CPI has also appealed to party workers and the public to write to the leadership, highlighting issues and suggesting corrective steps.
Party MP P Santhosh Kumar said a campaign was carried out against the LDF over the alleged Sabarimala gold loss incident.
"Certain developments facilitated such a campaign. From an electoral perspective, it is a fact that this helped the (Congress-led) UDF by creating an ideological crisis," he said.
He said that although the Sabarimala issue (entry of women in to Lord Ayyappa temple) did not escalate as it did during 20180-19, the recent gold loss incident had some impact against the LDF during the elections.
"Even though we won the ward where Sabarimala is located, campaigns and songs linked to the incident raised questions in the public mind and likely affected the election outcome," Kumar added.