Decline of the Left and Emergence of Mini Actors in Kerala

The left in Kerala has seen a steady drop in its vote share, while the Bharatiya Janata Party's situation has been the reverse. Paying only ritual obeisance to its core doctrine of struggling for the masses, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front now has little that distinguishes it from the Congress-led United Democratic Front. The political space vacated by the communists, who have failed to produce inspiring young leaders and whose strategies have not moved with the times, is being taken over by smaller parties that, regardless of orientation, stand for the struggle for justice in these neo-liberal days.