Sabarimala issue led to LS poll debacle: CPI-M

June 26, 2019 19:27

After the Lok Sabha poll drubbing in Kerala, where the Left Democratic Front could win only a single seat, the ruling Commuist Party of India-Marxist on Wednesday admitted the entry of two women into the Sabarimala temple did cause a "big impact" at the hustings.

This was stated in a post-poll evaluation report, prepared by the party's central committee and discussed during the two-day state committee meeting here on Sunday and Monday, excerpts of which were published in party mouthpiece "Deshabhimani" on Wednesday.

A day after the human wall of women was organised by the ruling front on January 1, two women had trekked the holy hills and offered prayers at the Sabarimala temple.

This was much used by the Opposition Congress-led UDF and the BJP during the election campaign, creating a "big impact" among party sympathisers, it was stated in the report.

This is the first time that the CPI-M has openly admitted the entry of the two women -- Bindu and Kanakadurga (both in their forties) -- into the Lord Ayyappa temple on January 2 had contributed to the Front's defeat.

The Supreme Court had on September 28 last year allowed women of all age groups to offer prayers at the Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala, where earlier women and girls in the menstrual age were forbidden.

Protests had broken out in the state after the LDF government decided to implement the verdict.

Earlier, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had stated that Sabarimala women's entry issue was not the reason for the ruling Left front's rout in the LS polls and had claimed that many voted for Congress-led UDF, which won 19 seats, expecting it to form the government at the Centre.

While the CPI-M and the LDF government decided to favour the SC court verdict, the Congress and the BJP first supported and later changed their stance.

They launched a "vicious" campaign against the LDF and succeeded in attracting the section of voters close to LDF, the report stated.

The fear that the BJP would ride to power at the Centre once again, created a pro-UDF wave among secular minds and led to votes being polled in favour of the UDF, it said.

The report said the CPI-M failed to read the pulse of the people, which was a "serious" flaw. -- PTI

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