Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s ‘arrogant’ style of functioning and the way the Supreme Court verdict allowing women to enter Sabarimala shrine was implemented by the government came in for severe criticism, at the CPI state executive.

The CPI state executive on Thursday witnessed severe criticism of the Chief Minister and the unilateral manner in which the SC verdict was implemented. There are unconfirmed reports the state executive witnessed open spat between two senior leaders on the Sabarimala issue and CM’s style of functioning which were cited as the chief reasons for the defeat in the party report.

Discussing reports from district units and constituencies that came up before the state executive, it was pointed out that there’s nothing wrong in the stance taken by the Left Democratic Front. However, the manner of implementation was wrong, those who took part in the discussions felt. In fact,  two women entering the shrine immediately after the Women’s Wall proved to be counter-productive and it backfired on the Left Democratic Front during the Lok Sabha elections, they pointed out.

“The verdict should have been implemented on the basis of a consensus. Also, we should not have rushed to such a decision. Besides, the entry of women a day after formation of the Women’s Wall created a wrong impression. It sent out a message that it was the government which took the lead to facilitate their entry. It offended the Hindu community. The way the SC verdict was implemented backfired. At the same time, the political reasons behind it failed to materialise,” sources said.

The LDF was hoping that the Sabarimala issue will create a split in the anti-Left votes, which in turn will prove to be beneficial for the Left Democratic Front. Also, the Left was hopeful of winning minority votes. However, neither of the two materialised.
“Some of those who addressed the meeting said the manner in which the Supreme Court order on  Sabarimala was implemented was a total failure. The issue should have been discussed in the LDF before the government took the final call. Instead, the government went ahead with the move that alienated a section of people. The Left votes went to the UDF. Due to the Sabarimala issue, the government’s achievements were not discussed during the election campaign,” sources said.

Meanwhile, CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran justified the Chief Minister’s style of functioning. Terming such demands ‘absurd’,  Kanam said there are political reasons behind the Left defeat. Earlier during a chat with reporters, Kanam had openly supported the CM’s style and blamed the media for creating such controversies. While some leaders felt the CM’s style of functioning and Sabarimala were the key reasons for the LDF’s pathetic performance in the elections, Kanam rejected these observations.

The meet underscored the need for strengthening the LDF. Terming the failure and loss of vote percentage temporary, the CPI meeting observed that the Left can indeed regain lost ground. Efforts should be made in this regard, the state executive said. The CPI state council will discuss the compiled reports during the state council meet scheduled for June 12-13.