Pathanamthitta: Criticism against former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan surfaced at the Pathanamthitta district conference of the Democratic Youth Federation of India. A delegate from Tiruvalla said that Pinarayi Vijayan’s controversial “Go ask that at home” remark had adversely affected the Left Democratic Front’s electoral prospects and was not an appropriate political style.
The criticism was raised during the delegates’ session held as part of the district conference. The delegate also remarked that expressing criticism of Pinarayi Vijayan should not result in being asked to leave the organization.
Earlier, M. A. Baby and former minister P. Rajeev had publicly reflected on the electoral setback suffered by the Left. Speaking at the “EMS’s World” seminar in Malappuram, Rajeev said the election slogan, “Who else but the LDF?”, was ineffective and may have created an unintended perception among voters.
Rajeev also noted that controversies involving Vellappally Natesan and the failure to take action in the Sabarimala gold theft case had negatively impacted the election outcome.
M. A. Baby, in an apparent reference to M. V. Govindan, said that fielding a relative as a candidate could provide opponents with an opportunity to attack the party and could have been avoided. In Thaliparamba, M. V. Govindan’s wife, P. K. Shyamala, was fielded as a candidate, a move that was reportedly blamed for a decline in votes. Independent candidate T. K. Govindan, a CPI(M) rebel, eventually won the seat.
Meanwhile, a recent report by the Communist Party of India concluded that anti-incumbency sentiment was the primary factor behind the Left’s defeat in the Assembly elections.
