Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government admitted that their stance on the Sabarimala issue made a significant impact in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. On Wednesday, CPM's mouthpiece Deshabhimani carried a post-poll evaluation report, prepared by the party's central committee, which was discussed during the two-day state committee meeting in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

The report stated, just a day after CPM's women’s wall was formed on January 1, Bindu and Kanakadurga, two women of menstruating age, visited Sabarimala, and this was the main content used by the Congress and BJP for their campaign which effected the fall of the LDF in Kerala.

The Supreme Court had, on September 28 last year, permitted women of all age groups to offer prayers at the Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala, where earlier women and girls of menstrual age were forbidden.

Protests had broken out in the state after the LDF government decided to implement the verdict.

Earlier, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had stated that Sabarimala women's entry issue was not the reason for the ruling Left front's rout in the LS polls and had claimed that many voted for Congress-led UDF, which won 19 seats, expecting it to form the government at the Centre.

The UDF and NDA launched a "vicious" campaign against the LDF and succeeded in attracting the section of voters close to LDF, the report stated.

The fear that the BJP would ride to power at the Centre once again, created a pro-UDF wave among secular minds and led to votes being polled in favour of the UDF, it said.

The report said the CPI(M) failed to read the pulse of the people, which was a "serious" flaw. Though there was good acceptance of the LDF government's performance among people, it, however, did not reflect in the poll outcome and this needed to be examined.

The report also stated that at the Centre there was a need to form a secular government for which there was need to strengthen the Left’s presence.

However, the LDF could not garner the confidence of the electorate.

To ensure the defeat of the LDF, the report alleged that in Thiruvananthapuram, Attingal, Pathanamthitta, Thrissur and Palakkad, the BJP gave a share of their votes in favour of UDF.

The report said even though it was the Left party which was at the receiving end of political violence in the state, the UDF, the BJP and the media succeeded in unleashing a campaign, blaming the CPI(M) and LDF for the same.

Despite a chunk of its votes going to the UDF kitty, the BJP could garner 15.56% votes and this has created a "big scare", it said, and added that in order to stall the saffron party's growth in the state, there is need to put up a united fight and be patient.

In some party strongholds, there has been an erosion in the vote bank, and the party’s failure to expand its voter base despite the efforts and good performance of the government, needed to be examined, it stated.

The report stated the party had failed to attract youngsters and wanted it to tap social media like the BJP. It also expressed anguish over the erosion in its traditional vote bank in its strongholds.