In an unprecedented development for the CPI(M) in Kerala, sections of its cadres and supporters in its traditional stronghold of Kannur district appear to have used their vote as a tool of dissent, marking the first instance of grassroots workers silently forcing the party to recalibrate its leadership and strategy.The CPI(M)’s setback in Kannur goes beyond a routine loss of seats, with the party losing six of the district’s 11 constituencies. The outcome has lent weight to concerns raised by two senior rebel leaders, who exited the party in March this year and went on to capture its strongholds with the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF)’s backing. In 2021, the LDF had won 9 of the 11 seats.AdvertisementCPI(M) rebels V Kunhikrishnan and T K Govindan trumped the LDF candidates in Payyannur and Taliparamba, respectively — seats comprising panchayats where the party has traditionally governed unopposed or faced only token opposition from rivals.Across other constituencies in the district, voting patterns suggest the CPI(M) bore the brunt of simmering discontent among its cadres.Outgoing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who sought a third victory from Dharmadam, was jolted by a sharp fall in his victory margin. From a margin of 50,123 votes in 2021, his lead dropped to 19,247. A young Congress leader, V P Rasheed, who entered the communist bastion with little groundwork, posed a formidable challenge to the CPI(M) stalwart.AdvertisementA senior CPI(M) leader associated with Vijayan’s campaign in Dharmadam said, “There is no erosion of cadre votes. There was minority consolidation in favour of the Congress candidate in three out of eight panchayats falling under the constituency.”Congress candidate Abdul Rasheed dismissed this claim. “This is a constituency with 80% Hindus. The right-wing Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), strong in one panchayat, had openly supported the CPI(M) and did not field a candidate. Among Hindus, Vijayan’s Ezhava community is dominant,” he said.Rasheed added that the verdict reflected a strong sentiment among CPI(M) workers that the party must be removed from power. “The support I received was largely a negative vote against Vijayan and the CPI(M). workers lack the courage to speak out — that is what I felt,” he said.A CPI(M) panchayat member in the constituency said there had been strong sentiments against Vijayan and his style of functioning.CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan, in his media briefing after reviewing the poll results, said: “The defeat of the LDF in Kerala was unexpected. All party factions will be convened in the next two months. Cadres will be given the opportunity to express their views without fear and in an independent manner.”An analysis of voting patterns in Dharmadam in recent elections shows that the electorate has adopted a flexible approach. While Vijayan clinched a big win in the 2021 Assembly polls, in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, party candidate M V Jayarajan’s lead from the same segment dropped to just 2,700 votes. However, in the 2025 local body elections, the CPI(M) increased its lead across eight panchayats in the constituency to 16,500.The erosion of votes was also evident in Mattannur, which had elected senior CPI(M) leader K K Shailaja by 60,963 votes in 2021. This time, when young leader V K Sanoj contested, the victory margin was reduced to 14,168.In Koothuparamba, a traditional bastion of the communist and socialist movements in Kannur, RJD candidate P K Praveen saved face for the LDF with a victory by 1,286 votes over the IUML’s Jayanthi Rajan. The constituency, once marred by political violence between the CPI(M) and the Sangh Parivar, is gradually emerging as a strong ground for the IUML. Data from recent local body elections indicate that the belt has increasingly been witnessing a showdown between the CPI(M) and the IUML.Senior CPI(M) leader from Kannur, P Jayarajan, who has been sidelined in the party for over a decade, has called for a rectification drive. “When communists engage in parliamentary democracy, degeneration can occur in various ways. If such weaknesses are not discussed and corrected, the party’s credibility will erode. Without addressing these issues, the CPI(M) cannot move ahead,” he said in a social media post.When T K Govindan and Kunhikrishnan had left the CPI(M) they stood largely alone, with few party leaders supporting them. They had little time to mobilise like-minded workers or float a local outfit.T K Govindan was even publicly heckled when he came to vote under police protection. Such incidents gave the CPI(M) leadership confidence that the rebels would not damage the party electorally. “CPI(M) cadres are afraid of speaking against their leaders. Nobody came out openly in support of me because of the fear. The leadership believes in foisting their decision on the party in an authoritarian manner. I don’t think the leadership will correct its stand. In my victory, the cadres have told the party the leadership was wrong,”’ he said.you may likeGovindan won by a margin of 12,568 votes in a seat where party state secretary M V Govindan had secured a majority of 22,689 in 2021. This time, P K Shyamala, M V Govindan’s wife, was the CPI(M) candidate. In Payyannur, rebel Kunhikrishnan defeated CPI(M)’s sitting legislator T I Madhusoodanan by 7,487 votes. Madhusoodanan had won the seat in 2021 with a record margin of 49,780 votes.In the Taliparamba seat encompasses the 29-member Anthoor municipality, where the CPI(M) rules without a single Opposition member. Among the other six panchayats in the constituency, the CPI(M) is in power in four with an overwhelming majority.T K Govindan had quit the party alleging nepotism after M V Govindan’s wife was fielded in the polls. Kunhikrishnan revolted over the alleged misuse of funds mobilised from cadres for families of political martyrs.