THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) grapples with an unfavourable verdict in the recent local body elections, senior party leader and State Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian has struck a note of cautious optimism, insisting that the setback does not signal a terminal decline for the ruling alliance.
Speaking to IANS, Cherian acknowledged that the results were disappointing for the Left, but argued that history suggests such reversals need not be decisive.
Drawing a parallel with the 2010 local body polls, he recalled that the Left had then faced a similar drubbing, only to mount a strong comeback in the subsequent Assembly elections.
“In 2011, the Congress-led UDF won 72 seats in the 140-member Assembly, but we were very close behind. That itself shows that even after a setback, the political space for a comeback exists, ” he said.