Former Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leader P.K. Sasi said here on Thursday that his newly formed platform Democratic Marxist Front (DMF) would unite CPI(M) rebels across the State. The forum’s first district council meeting will be held in Palakkad on May 14.

The 311-member council will review the political situation following the Assembly elections and outline the group’s future political direction and programmes. Mr. Sasi said the CPI(M) had suffered a major setback in the elections, both in the district and across the State. “The party’s flawed policies and the arrogant attitude of some leaders were reflected in the election results,” he said.

He said the DMF would pursue what he described as authentic Left political ideology. According to him, there is also a proposal to form a parallel front to the existing Left Democratic Front (LDF) in cooperation with the United Democratic Front (UDF), by bringing together Left-leaning groups that have distanced themselves from the CPI(M) along with other parties.

He said he had held discussions with Communist Marxist Party (CMP) leader C.P. John, and would soon speak with G. Sudhakaran, V. Kunhikrishnan and T.K. Govindan, former CPI(M) leaders who later contested and won as UDF candidates.

‘Vote leakage from UDF’

Mr. Sasi also claimed that his defeat in Ottappalam was due to a “vote leakage” from the UDF. “The UDF lost 11,122 votes that should have gone to me,” he said, urging the Congress and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leaderships to investigate the matter.

He further alleged that the group he leads was instrumental in defeating the LDF candidates in Thrithala, Kongad and Chittur, and in significantly cutting the LDF’s lead in Alathur, Malampuzha, and Tharoor. According to Mr. Sasi, the LDF’s dominance has weakened even in its strongholds. “Across 12 constituencies in the district, the LDF lost 78,499 votes,” he said.