Archive · 2 Sep 2026
Thomas Isaac Blames Arrogance, Candidate Lapses for CPI(M) Setback
Thomas Isaac said his party, the CPI(M), performed badly in Kerala’s recent election.
He said the party became too confident after being in power for 10 years.
He also said it did not listen enough to what voters wanted.
According to Isaac, problems linked to cooperative banks hurt the party’s image.
He said some voters believed a claim that the CPI(M) had an understanding with the BJP.
Isaac believes the party should listen to people and fix its mistakes.
He said fixing problems is not enough unless people believe the party has changed.
The Congress-led UDF won nearly 100 of the 140 seats and returned to power.
Isaac said voters had not completely rejected the CPI(M).
CPI(M) central committee member T M Thomas Isaac attributed the party’s Assembly poll defeat to arrogance after 10 years in power.
Isaac said the party failed to consider public sentiment when selecting candidates and was affected by corruption allegations involving cooperative banks.
He urged CPI(M) leaders to listen to voters, correct their functioning and convince people that the party had changed.
Isaac said voters believed allegations of a CPI(M)-BJP deal, which the party failed to counter effectively.
The Congress-led UDF won nearly 100 of Kerala’s 140 Assembly seats, defeating the CPI(M)-led LDF’s bid for a third consecutive term.
- Who
- T M Thomas Isaac, a CPI(M) central committee member and former minister, discussed the party’s defeat; the Congress-led UDF defeated the CPI(M)-led LDF.
- What
- Isaac identified party arrogance, candidate-selection failures, corruption allegations and ineffective responses to campaign claims as factors behind the CPI(M)’s setback.
- When
- Isaac made the remarks on Tuesday; television channels telecast footage of the event on Wednesday, September 2.
- Where
- At a local party programme in Alappuzha, Kerala.
- Why
- He said the CPI(M) needed to understand its defeat, correct its functioning and regain public confidence.
Isaac’s Internal Criticism
State Leadership’s Alternative Explanations
Reasons for the Poll Defeat
Isaac’s Internal Criticism
Thomas Isaac blamed arrogance after 10 years in power, failure to consider public sentiment during candidate selection, corruption allegations and an ineffective response to the CPI(M)-BJP deal campaign.
State Leadership’s Alternative Explanations
The article says Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and state secretary M V Govindan offered explanations for the poll debacle that differed from Isaac’s comments, but it does not specify those explanations.
How the Party Should Respond
Isaac’s Internal Criticism
Isaac said the CPI(M) should approach people with humility, listen to their views, correct itself and persuade voters that it had changed.
State Leadership’s Alternative Explanations
The article presents Isaac’s remarks as being at variance with explanations from prominent state leaders, without detailing a separate corrective programme from them.
- Speaker
- T M Thomas Isaac, CPI(M) central committee member and two-time former minister
- Election result
- The Congress-led UDF won nearly 100 of Kerala’s 140 Assembly seats.
- Defeated alliance
- The CPI(M)-led LDF was defeated while seeking a third consecutive term.
- Problems identified
- Party arrogance, candidate-selection lapses, corruption allegations in cooperative banks and other issues.
- Campaign allegation
- Isaac said people believed allegations of a CPI(M)-BJP deal.
- Proposed response
- Isaac called for humility, listening to voters, corrective measures and convincing people that the party had changed.