Kerala communists see Church role in city polls defeat

After having suffered a major setback in the local body polls, Communists in Kerala are now holding Church responsible for its defeat.

The CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) lost two city corporations to the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) this week. The results have come six months ahead of the Assembly elections.

According to reports, major losses suffered by the LDF were in areas dominated by the Muslim and Christian communities.

"We lost mainly because Christians used the communal card against us," said A. Vijayaraghavan, a CPM leader, according to The Telegraph.

The Catholic Church had earlier protested the Communists targeting Christian faith and moral values through laws and educational reforms

The Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council (KCBC) issued a pastoral letter urging its faithful to oppose atheist forces and elect God-fearing and selfless people, who are faithful to the Indian Constitution and its democratic principles.

The Communist government also had proposed to penalize couples having a third child, in a bid to control the state's population. This was strongly opposed by the Church.

Says Stephen Alathara, spokesperson of the KCBC, the Communists had taken the Church very lightly. "They had boasted that the Church could not influence their voters. But the results have proved otherwise."

CPI secretary Veliyam Bhargavan said the party's loss was unexpected.