Senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and Central Committee member T.M. Thomas Isaac has delivered a stinging internal critique of his party's functioning, calling the Kerala Assembly election defeat a 'shock treatment' administered by the electorate. Speaking at the foundation-stone laying ceremony of the CPI(M)'s Vallikunnam West local committee office in Alappuzha, Isaac said the party had grown arrogant after 10 consecutive years in power and had stopped listening to dissenting voices.

Isaac's Core Indictment

Isaac was unsparing in his assessment. He said the party had failed to approach people with humility and had become increasingly hostile to those who raised questions or challenged the leadership. He linked the electoral setback directly to errors in candidate selection and a widening disconnect between the party apparatus and public sentiment.

He also acknowledged that the campaign alleging a secret understanding between the CPI(M) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had influenced voters. While he described the campaign as false, he conceded that certain statements and actions by party leaders had provided the narrative with credibility — an admission that carries significant weight coming from a Central Committee member.

Cooperative Banks and the Ayyappa Sangamam Row

Isaac raised pointed questions about the handling of cooperative bank affairs, stating that the money deposited in these institutions belonged to the people — not to party leaders or their families. 'Those who had taken money should repay it. If they were unwilling to do so, they should leave the party,' he said.

He also addressed the Ayyappa Sangamam controversy, arguing that even if the party had no harmful intent, it should have anticipated how its actions would be interpreted by the broader public. The remark signals a demand for greater political sensitivity within the organisation's decision-making.

Simmering Unease Over Pinarayi Vijayan's Approach

Isaac's remarks come against a backdrop of growing discomfort among senior leaders over the manner in which former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has managed the post-election discourse. Vijayan's categorical statement that the post of Deputy Leader of the Opposition would not be given to the Communist Party of India (CPI) — amid a dispute between the two Left allies — was among the first flashpoints. Left Democratic Front (LDF) convenor T.P. Ramakrishnan was subsequently compelled to clarify the party's position.

Vijayan's meetings in Taliparamba and Payyannur have also drawn internal scrutiny. A section of leaders reportedly felt that the framing of the defeat at these meetings appeared to shift blame onto cadres who voted for rebel candidates — a reading contradicted by the party's own organisational review, which identified failures in candidate selection and weakening ties between leaders and workers in traditional strongholds.

Attacks by Pinarayi Vijayan and Kannur district secretary K.K. Ragesh against rebel leaders T.K. Govindan and V. Kunjikrishnan have also drawn criticism from within, with some leaders warning that the public targeting of these figures could inadvertently boost their standing.

Kozhikode Meeting: A Reckoning Awaits

The CPI(M) is scheduled to hold an extended state committee meeting in Kozhikode from 13 to 15 September, attended by nine Polit Bureau members, including General Secretary M.A. Baby. The meeting is expected to conduct a detailed examination of the election defeat, candidate selection, organisational weaknesses, and leadership functioning.

The party suffered setbacks not only in Kannur — traditionally its strongest district — but across several of its established bastions, making the accountability question both urgent and politically sensitive.

Isaac's Own Political Journey

Isaac's intervention carries a personal dimension as well. He served as State Finance Minister in the first Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet (2016–21). When he was set to contest from his sitting seat in the subsequent election, the party decided to bar leaders who had contested multiple times from standing — a decision that came as a significant blow to him. He was then fielded for the 2024 Lok Sabha seat from Pathanamthitta, but lost. His current intervention, therefore, is not merely ideological — it reflects the experience of a leader who has himself felt the weight of decisions made at the top.

With the Kozhikode meeting approaching, Isaac's public remarks have sharpened the terms of debate: the party, he has made clear, cannot simply blame voters or rebel cadres. It must examine its own conduct, rebuild public trust, and demonstrate that it has genuinely changed.