The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front did not do well in the recent Kerala local body elections. Every card was played by the LDF—from invoking faith in ways that bordered on subtle communalism to indulging in heavy PR stunts—yet the alliance failed to perform well. Traditionally, even in the face of anti-incumbency, the LDF has done well in local body elections because of the close rapport the CPI(M), a cadre-based party, maintains at the grassroots level. This time, however, that advantage did not work in its favour.

Kerala remains the last bastion of the CPI(M), and understandably, its poor performance on home turf is a cause for concern. But this raises a larger issue—indeed, two questions. Why has the CPI(M) virtually disappeared from the rest of India? And the second, related question: why does it continue to remain strong in Kerala?

Though not in power, leftist ideology, together with the intelligentsia and academics who adhere to it, wields considerable influence in elite circles and plays a decisive role in shaping contemporary public discourse. Many of the criticisms directed at the BJP emerge from this discourse, as the Indian National Congress, the formal opposition, exercises little influence within academia or among the intelligentsia. Academia and the intelligentsia have long been the strongholds of the Left.

The charges raised by the Left against the BJP are many. Ironically, many of these accusations neatly fit the Left itself. One such charge concerns the repression of dissent and opposing voices. The BJP, it is said, never allows dissent in its strongholds in North India. Such voices, we are told, are the signs of a healthy democracy. CPI(M) news sites and portals, including its Malayalam daily Deshabhimani, have spoken out strongly against such repression. But what is the ground reality in Kerala? The fact is that there are several places where opposing the CPI(M) is so difficult that no one is willing to contest against the party. In such wards, the CPI(M) has won even before elections are held, without any opposition. There have also been many wards........

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