Thiruvananthapuram: The corrective measures to be taken in the wake of the defeat suffered in the Lok Sabha elections should be convincing for the people in both words and action, said CPM politburo member MA Baby. In an article published in ‘Pachakkuthira’ magazine, Baby said that the party is going through one of the most frustrating periods as its presence in the Lok Sabha has touched an all-time low. “The communists and left parties have reached here from a position where we had called the shots at the national level enjoying a proud place with considerable numbers”, he said. 

“The situation looks serious as BJP has been attracting votes from people influenced earlier by CPM and other parties, even in Kerala. To understand how this disastrous situation has evolved in the state, the party should make an in-depth study with extraordinary insight and implement the steps needed to be taken with patience. Otherwise, the party can not bail themselves out of this tragic state of affairs”, said Baby.  

“The election debacles should not be the only things to be discussed while making corrections. There are leaks and falls occurring in other influential areas of the party like public acceptance, impact on society and the ability to respond in different situations. Political, organisational, issues in connection with being in power and the words and deeds of leaders while dealing with people, could be the reasons for these problems. All these issues are part of the process of corrective measures acknowledged in party conferences and reports of plenums. Though the party has been able to move ahead with the corrective measures taking place, more areas remain where corrections should take place. It should also be remembered that correction is a continuous process,” Baby said. 

“The lost trust of left parties could be regained only through sincere, honest and brave self-criticism which should be conducted in a manner so convincing for the people. The corrections should be felt through both words and deeds, only then the left parties would be able to win back the trust of the people. Still, we have to travel a lot from there, too”, he said. 
“Naturally, right-wing forces and people with vested interests would come up against the left parties and its leaders by spreading lies and canards, while we try to make corrective measures. Such indecent campaigns also played a crucial part in the setback suffered by the party in the recent elections. We should be able to identify and expose such dirty tricks played upon us. It also means that we have to be sincere about accepting and correcting our faults and shortcomings”, Baby said. 

“The communists and left should not abstain from the responsibility of identifying the mistakes through inner-party discussions and correct them later. If the party abstained from it, the situation would turn highly destructive. Party should be bold enough to reply to the lie campaigns without ignoring the campaigns and should also expose the motive behind it. If the left parties would not correct the mistakes and flaws by recognising it, the regressive forces and the media would rejoice. The party and its workers should be vigilant to establish and retain a strong relationship with the people. The present state of affairs could be corrected only by implementing the basic lesson of learning from the people to teach them. To listen to the people with patience is as important as to speak to them”, said Baby.