Little That Is Left Of Left In Tamil Nadu

TWO Left parties — CPI(M) and CPI — have been allocated six seats each for the ensuing Assembly elections in the DMK alliance. While the parties’ dependency on Dravidian giants for securing MP and MLA seats is a political reality, both the Left parties have remained a strong voice for labourers, farmers and Dalits in the State. Despite its presence in the State for the past six decades, why have the parties not matured into a major political force here?

- B Anbuselvan 

A look into the electoral results reveal that both the CPM and CPI have had a poor success rate whenever they contested elections without allying with either of the Dravidian majors. The parties’ vote share which swung between five to six per cent since 1967, dwindled to merely one per cent in 2014. They were forced to leave the AIADMK alliance during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections after they were offered only one seat each. The CPM and CPI contested in nine and eight constituencies, respectively, and together polled in nearly 4.39 lakh votes (one per cent).