Thiruvananthapuram, March 13 (NationPress) Despite recent electoral indicators suggesting a lean towards the opposition in Kerala, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) expressed strong assurance on Friday that the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) will maintain its power with a substantial majority in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

This statement was made by CPI-M State Secretary M.V. Govindan during a press conference here.

He mentioned that the selection process for LDF candidates is almost finalized, with names set to be revealed once the election schedule is officially announced.

Nonetheless, this declaration emerges at a moment when the Left Front has made grand claims of electoral success in the past, particularly following the 2021 Assembly elections, only to witness a political shift towards the Congress-led opposition each time.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the LDF was able to secure merely one out of the 20 available seats in Kerala.

Subsequent by-elections resulted in the United Democratic Front (UDF) winning a majority of constituencies, with only one exception.

Recently, during local body elections held in December, the Left had voiced confidence in sustaining its dominance.

However, the outcomes indicated that the Congress-led UDF achieved what was characterized by party leaders as one of its most impressive performances in the annals of local body elections in Kerala.

In spite of these defeats, Govindan asserted on Friday that the LDF is poised to secure a commanding mandate in the upcoming Assembly elections.

He also critiqued the foreign policy of the Central government, accusing India of compromising its sovereignty and self-reliance through its increasing alignment with the United States.

According to him, this shift in policy began during the Congress-led administrations and has been aggressively pursued by the current Bharatiya Janata Party-led government.

Govindan pointed out that India's traditional foreign policy stance was to oppose what he termed as American imperialism.

However, he argued that this stance began to waver during the administration of former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, leading to a closer relationship with the US.

He also noted that diplomatic relations with Israel were reinstated during this period and claimed that the nuclear agreement led India to compromise its self-reliance and sovereignty, effectively becoming a subordinate ally of the US.

Previously, India had maintained a non-aligned position against what he described as the aggressive policies of American imperialism, yet now finds itself in the precarious situation of being fully aligned with the US, Govindan concluded.