The Communist Party of India (Marxist) leadership’s bid to elicit public response in the wake of the reversals suffered in the last Lok Sabha election is being elucidated as a major step for a course correction, dispel the doubtful perceptions about the Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) stance on the Sabarimala issue and regain the lost ground among the faithful.
Starting from State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, a battery of leaders and core party activists who have embarked on an outreach programme are understood to have received a tepid response, mainly from women on the State government’s stance on women’s entry to Sabarimala.
The visitors turn patient listeners than raising queries. The thrust of the visit is on clearing the air, correcting the wrong notions professed by various sections on the verdict and also the government’s stance.
Party sources told The Hindu that a majority of the faithful were confused about the government’s decision to implement the verdict and some others felt that its execution could have been deferred on the grounds that the State was recovering from the damage wreaked by the 2019 August floods.
Some of the leaders were astonished to learn that many were unaware of the Supreme Court verdict and had construed the entry of women as an arbitrary move of the State and that the LDF was opposed to the faithful. They were also oblivious of the constitutional responsibility of the government in abiding by the verdict.
The high-voltage campaign launched by Sangh Parivar organisations too played a significant role in forging opinion against the front. But the big win the United Democratic Front (UDF) gained on the basis of the swing in minority votes to keep the Bharatiya Janata Party out of power at the Centre seems to be transient.
Voting pattern
The same voting pattern is unlikely to be replicated in the local body and Assembly byelections that are in the offing. The interaction has helped to clear the air and apprise them of the party’s position on various issues, sources said.
The district committees of the CPI(M) would prepare reports based on the outreach programme and would eventually lead the State leadership to chart out policy corrections, sources said.