Party panel indicts CPI leadership in Kerala over poll debacle

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: An internal inquiry panel set up by CPI in Kerala to probe the drubbing it received in the Lok Sabha election in Thiruvananthapuram seat has made a scathing criticism of the state leadership over the selection of the candidate.

CPI's Bennet Abraham, a little-known figure in political circles, was relegated to the third position in the prestigious seat which returned Shashi Tharoor of the Congress for the second term.

The result came all the more severe to the LDF in general and the CPI in particular as BJP's O Rajagopal finished a close second in the keenly watched contest.

According to party sources, the three-member panel which probed the defeat faulted the state leadership over wrong choice of candidate made by completely overruling suggestions of the district leadership.

The panel also found that the leadership failed in gauging the mood of the electorate and finding a far more popular candidate despite it was clear that the constituency would have a three-cornered contest with the BJP putting up a strong performance unlike other Lok Sabha seats in Kerala.

The report, presented to the party state secretariat yesterday, would be discussed by the state council at its next meeting, the sources said.