CPI(M) examines defeat, to take call on Vijayan as LoP

THe CPI(M) Politburo, the highest decision-making personify of the company, began its two-day get together on sun in new delhi to examine its defeats in the recent round of assembly elections, particularly in Kerala and West Bengal.In Kerala, while the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) could win only 35 of the state’s 140 seats, in Bengal, the party won just one seat out of the 294 the coalition fought in.The meeting will also decide whether outgoing chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan will assume the post of the leader of opposition.When reporters asked Vijayan, on his way to the Politburo meeting in Delhi, whether he would take up the LoP’s post, he replied, “Ask the general secretary.”The party is reported to have held extensive discussions on the reasons behind the defeat in Kerala and the erosion of it’s vote-bank, particularly among the minorities. While the Congress-led UDF won 102 seats, the BJP won three seats, its best performance in terms of assembly seats in the state.The Communist Party of India (Marxist) Kerala unit has also announced that it will conduct a thorough review, from the branch to the district level, in May and June, as part of which it will listen to party leaders and workers air their grievances.CPI reiterates demand for deputy LoP postMeanwhile, Communist Party of India (CPI) state secretary Binoy Viswam reiterated that the party wants the deputy leader of opposition post in the Assembly, a claim that the CPI(M) had informally termed as ‘technically not possible.’“The CPI is entitled to the deputy leader of opposition post in the Assembly,” he said after the party’s national council meet in Delhi. The CPI is the second-largest partner within the LDF with 8 seats.Viswam on Sunday also said that the outgoing LDF government failed to properly handle the protest by ASHA workers in Kerala.The Kerala ASHA Health Workers Association (KAHWA) had staged a 265-day protest last year, demanding that their honorarium be increased to ₹21,000 and that they be given ₹5 lakh in post-retirement benefits, demands that the LDF government did not accept.“The Left government should have had a different approach in handling protests like the one by ASHA workers. It should not behave like a right-wing government. A Left government should not disrespect workers’ protests or look down upon them. But that happened,” Viswam said.Viswam said the electoral defeat was a warning that communist organisations must give priority to the people.