Thiruvananthapuram: Beyond allegations of administrative misconduct, the CPI has criticised that public dissatisfaction with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan contributed to the party’s defeat in the local body elections. This critique emerged during the state secretariat and executive meetings convened to review the local body election results. The party also reiterated that the loss at Sabarimala and the signing of the PM Shri scheme were huge setbacks.

The meetings highlighted that people had doubts over the Chief Minister’s stance on certain issues. His handling of the Vellapally controversy reportedly raised public suspicion, and his repeated defence of Vellapally was deemed inappropriate.

Despite several welfare initiatives, the party faced electoral setbacks, which CPI leaders see as evidence of governance failures. The Sabarimala gold case failed to assuage public concerns, and inaction against arrested CPM leader Padmakumar further strengthened public doubts, the CPI leaders observed.

They evaluated that neither the LDF nor the government can continue unchanged. They concluded that learning lessons from the defeat and implementing corrections is essential for the continuation of governance.