Leadership criticised for selection of wrong candidate
Thiruvananthapuram : An internal inquiry panel set up by CPI in Kerala to probe the drubbing it received in the Lok Sabha election in Thiruvananthapuram seat has made a scathing criticism of the state leadership over the selection of the candidate.
CPI’s Bennet Abraham, a little-known figure in political circles, was relegated to the third position in the prestigious seat which returned Shashi Tharoor of the Congress for the second term. The result came all the more severe to the LDF in general and the CPI in particular as BJP’s O Rajagopal finished a close second.
According to party sources, the panel which probed the defeat faulted the state leadership over wrong choice of candidate made by completely overruling suggestions of the district leadership. It also found that the leadership failed in gauging mood of the electorate and finding a popular candidate despite it was clear that the constituency would have a three-cornered contest with the BJP putting up a strong performance unlike other Lok Sabha seats in Kerala. -PTI
