New Delhi: The left parties in India are in peril, and the results of the assembly elections held in the four states clearly show that they needed to do more at the grassroots level than ever before. CPI, which has already lost its national party status, had a consolation win in Telangana. Even that would not have been possible without the support of Congress. Meanwhile, CPM had a forgettable outing after losing two sitting seats in Rajasthan. 

Rajasthan's CPM ambitions were dashed by the BJP's overwhelming victory in the polls. The communist party’s hopes of gaining mileage by cashing on the farmer movements in the state did not receive the expected results. The recent results suggest that CPM is required to learn from its mistakes to stay in contention in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The issues inside the party remain a source of worry in West Bengal and Tripura as well.

The left parties seem to be crumbling in front of the BJP politics driven by money and caste dynamics. CPM distancing itself from forming an alliance with Congress in many places also further deepened the crisis. In Rajasthan, the left parties failed to make an impact despite the backing of the Samajwadi party.

In Chhattisgarh, tribal leader Manish Kunjam, who contested for CPI, gave the opposite candidates a tough run but eventually lost the election. His inability to contest under the traditional party symbol of ‘corn and sickle’ is being pointed out as one of the major reasons for his defeat. The tribal leader strangely contested under the banner of an ‘air conditioner’, which people in the region would have found hard to relate to. 

Apart from the lone victory of CPI state secretary Sambasiva Rao in Kothagudem, the left parties have nothing to cheer about in the recently concluded Telangana state elections.