2024 elections, an eye opener to Left parties?

Tirupati: CPI candidate’s humiliating defeat in Tirupati Assembly in 2024 elections is an eye opener to Left parties, which is always in the forefront in taking up public issues - be it employees or those working in unorganised sectors - championing the cause of everyone.

But all the struggles of Left parties and their allied organisations proved futile as the voters did not considered and outrightly rejected their candidate P Murali, who is also CPI district secretary.

Murali got just 608 votes against 1,93,742 total votes polled in the Assembly election held on May 13 this year. This was less than NOTA votes, which was 1,200 and also less than the 661 votes secured by BSP candidate Venugopal.

It should be noted that CPI national leader K Narayana, who is from the pilgrim city, campaigned intensively for Murali, while APCC president YS Sharmila Reddy also addressed a big public meeting of Left parties, trade unions, CITU and AITUC, the latter two major national-level labour organisations controls most of the employees’ associations, including those of TTD), universities and government agencies.

Though the trade unions of Left parties hold on to employees, teachers, Anganwadi workers and construction labourers in unorganised sector that was sizable in pilgrim city, in no way helped the party to get at least a few thousand votes, leaving Left parties in shock.

Left party senior leader, on condition of anonymity, confided that this was the worst defeat they faced in Tirupati, adding that they failed to impress people to get considerable votes.

“ CITU led many struggles for wage hike for about 15,000 non-permanent employees in TTD, while AITUC always fights for auto workers and building workers. But all their good works got washed away by TDP alliance wave in the election,” he lamented.

A CPM leader said it is high time that the Left parties should make an honest introspection of their performance in the State in the recent elections and plan their future course to win votes.

Meanwhile, INDIA alliance partners CPI and Congress contested all the 14 seats in the erstwhile Chittoor district, Congress for 13 and CPI for one (Tirupati).

Congress candidates however able to get on average 3,000 to 4,000 votes but CPI candidate in Tirupati, despite the combined campaign of Congress, CPI, CPM, Aam Aadmi party, got only 608 votes.