Worst electoral performance by CPI(M) since 2004: Yechury

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Saturday said the party suffered its worst electoral performance in the Lok Sabha polls this year since 2004.

Speaking at the Pramod Dasgupta memorial lecture here, Yechury said that in 2004, the party had won 44 seats, which declined to only three in 2019.

"There has been a steady decline since 2004. The central committee has already discussed and analysed the causes," he said.

"The results reflected that political intervention capacity and individual strength of the party have not grown. The central committee decided for a review of the situation in August," the senior CPI(M) leader said.

He also exhorted party leaders to deepen the understanding with the masses and find out where the mistakes were made, and ensure that these are not repeated in future.

Yechury said the political narrative changed after the Pulwama incident in February.

"The Pulwama incident changed the entire political narrative that shifted to nationalistic jingoism with the help of the media, which also created a larger than life persona of Modi (PM Narendra Modi)," he said.

The BJP spent nearly Rs 27,000 crore in the elections, and succeeded in making an emotional appeal to the people in the garb of 'Hindutva', Yechury alleged.

"Even in West Bengal, the BJP is spending Rs 132 crore per month to deepen the communal divide," he claimed.

He said that the propaganda of 'Hindutva' was a political project of the BJP, and had nothing to do with religion.