No need to remove Pinarayi Vijayan from Kerala CM post despite heavy defeat in LS polls: CPI

Binoy Viswam, State Secretary of CPI, discussed the LDF's electoral defeat and defended the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, rejecting calls for change. He addressed perceptions about communist leaders and criticized leaks from party discussions in an interview with Asianet News.  

Thiruvananthapuram: The state secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Binoy Viswam emphasized that despite the significant defeat of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the Lok Sabha elections, the CPI does not support the notion of changing the Chief Minister. Speaking to Asianet News, Viswam clarified that the CPI does not perceive the Chief Minister as corrupt and is evaluating how such perceptions about communist leaders have emerged. He criticized individuals disclosing party discussions as spies.

In a special interview with Asianet News, Binoy Viswam, State Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), emphasized that the CPI does not advocate for changing the Chief Minister solely due to the election defeat. He stated that the blame for the defeat should not fall solely on the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM), but rather on everyone collectively. Viswam highlighted the need to examine how perceptions have shifted over time regarding allegations against communist leaders.

The ruling CPI(M), aiming to capitalize on concerns among minorities about the BJP, managed to secure only one seat. Additionally, the Left failed to reclaim several of its longstanding strongholds that were won over by the Congress in the 2019 elections.

The CPI(M) found a silver lining in Alathur, where its senior leader and former state minister K. Radhakrishnan defeated sitting Congress MP Ramya Haridas. However, CPI(M)'s lone sitting MP A.M. Ariff lost Alappuzha to Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal.