What’s left of Left: Communists hit new low, lose strongholds in key bastions

It is the first time since 1952 elections that the Left Front could not garner a double digit number while securing the Lok Sabha seats. From having a tally of 24 seats in 2009, it slumped to 12 in 2014 general elections, only to hit a new low in this year's elections. 

As BJP steamrolled into securing a second term for Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government Thursday, the Left Front found itself dazed by a debacle as the latest trends manifested that the Left parties managed to barely win six seats in the Lok Sabha election results.

It is the first time since 1952 elections that the Left Front could not garner a double digit number while securing the Lok Sabha seats. From having a tally of 24 seats in 2009, it slumped to 12 in 2014 general elections, only to hit a new low in this year’s elections.

The poor electoral performance led both, the party leaders and the ideologues to acknowledge the dire need to make changes in the organisational structure of the parties as well as altering their strategy in electoral politics.

“The political ideology of the Left still has relevance, but it is not in tune with electoral politics. We need to do serious introspection, rework strategies, reorganise and reconnect with the masses,” CPI leader D Raja was quoted as saying by PTI. He added that young blood had to be infused for the resurgence of the Left in the country.

Once a Left stronghold, the CPI(M) is leading in only one seat in Kerala — Alappuzha. Another Left party, the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), is leading in the Kollam seat in Kerala, but it is a part of the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in the coastal state. The Left parties had secured five seats in Kerala in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

In West Bengal, a state which was ruled by the Left for 34 years, it is all set to draw a blank in its worst-ever performance. It had secured two seats in the state in 2014. This time, it has not even managed to bag the second spot in any of the state’s 42 Lok Sabha seats.

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