Congress aims better performance in future in Thrissur, vows course correction

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective.

First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.

Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day.

Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers

Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there

The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features.

Setting its sights on a better performance, the Congress in Thrissur has resolved to ensure total victory in the future elections.

The party could win only four of the 13 constituencies, including one won by the Kerala Congress, in the district despite the Congress-led United Democratic Front's strong performance in the State.

A joint meeting of mandalam and block Congress committee presidents decided to move forward by identifying and rectifying organisational lapses. The meeting noted that sustained grassroots work had yielded measurable gains, including reducing the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) vote share from over 5.5 lakh to around 3.5 lakh, and bringing down the Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s [CPI(M)] vote base by nearly two lakh from its 2021 tally of around 9.30 lakh.

The leadership also claimed that the Congress’ efforts had helped reclaim Thrissur’s secular character, which, it said, was dented following actor-politician Suresh Gopi’s victory as a National Democratic Alliance candidate. In constituencies where the party lost by narrow margins, the defeats were described as “technical,” with leaders expressing confidence that the losses can be reversed through focussed interventions.

Based on reports submitted by mandalam presidents, senior leaders will hold detailed discussions to identify weak booths. Special meetings will be convened in each constituency to address shortcomings and strengthen organisational structures. The party also plans to correct long-standing electoral deficiencies.

The meeting asserted that the party functioned with unprecedented unity, particularly in candidate selection. Concerns were raised over certain leaders allegedly undermining the party in public and the meeting called for corrective action.

Mandalam and block presidents voiced strong displeasure over the attitude of a few leaders who, they said, failed to acknowledge the hard-earned gains of party workers.

The district leadership also directed local Congress committees t