At their lowest, Left parties in battle for survival: A SWOT analysis
17th Lok Sabha, the Left parties, part of the opposition INDIA bloc, are engaged in a do-or-die battle in this general elections after hitting an all-time low tally in the 2019 polls. The Left parties, prominent among which are the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, Revolutionary Socialist Party and the All India Forward Bloc, have witnessed a steep decline in their electoral performance over the last two decades.
For the CPI(M), its status as a national party is also at stake with its shrinking footprints.
Here is a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of the Left parties as they fight to hold ground in the Lok Sabha polls.
STRENGTHS:
* The Left Democratic Front and the United Democratic Front, led by the Congress, are contesting independently in Kerala, where the BJP is looking to make a dent. The opposition bloc together is hoping to retain all seats.
* In West Bengal, the TMC has gone solo. The CPI(M) has announced 16 candidates and has maintained that a seat-sharing pact with the Congress is still possible. With sharp attacks on the TMC, the Left and the Congress may manage to dent the BJP's prospects by pocketing some of the anti-incumbency votes.
* Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, which had recorded below one per cent vote share in 2019, made its mark in the recent Bihar assembly polls in which it got over three per cent of votes. The Left parties, including
