After LSG debacle, Left front to launch mass protests against Centre's new Bills

Days after facing a setback in the local self-government (LSG) elections, Kerala’s ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) has decided to shift to an agitation mode to mobilise the public against the Union government’s Viksit Bharat Gramin Bill and Shiksha Adhishthan Bills (2025) across the state. Both these Bills have faced resistance from the Opposition parties, which have, among other charges, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of asserting overreach through them.

CPI(M) eyes sustained issue-based fight

The LDF’s core strategy is to launch mass protests, with a particular focus on mobilising MGNREGA/S (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act/Scheme) workers against what it alleges is an erosion of the guarantee of employment and protection of welfare.

Leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which spearheads the alliance, believe a sustained issue-based mobilisation is required to recover the ground lost at the grassroots level after the LSG election debacle exposed its organisational weakness and voter disengagement in both rural and urban local bodies.

Also read: Kerala LSG elections: What numbers say about UDF, LDF, NDA performance

According to party sources, the leadership has concluded that the electoral setback cannot be addressed through internal reviews alone and requires a visible political counter-offensive. The Gramin Bill, which the Left argues threatens rural employment security and weakens decentralised governance, is being projected as a direct assault on the livelihood base of local body institutions.

Mass organisations aligned with the CPI(M) have been instructed to prepare for coordinated protests at panchayat, block and district levels, with MGNREGA workers expected to form the backbone of the agitation.

“From the time it came to power, the NDA government has been trying to weaken the employment guarantee scheme through measures such as cutting budgetary allocations, and it is now attempting to dismantle the scheme altogether. The Union government is adopting an approach that completely abdicates its constitutional responsibility to provide employment,” said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a social media post.

MGNREGA a reality because of Left pressure: Vijayan

“The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme became a reality only because of the pressure exerted by the Left during the tenure of the first UPA government. At the time, the Congress was reluctant and agreed to introduce the scheme only unwillingly. That lack of commitment must be abandoned. Strong public opinion must be built against the Union government’s misguided moves,” he added.

Also read: Despite Thiruvananthapuram magic, Kerala LSG results expose chink in BJP armour

On Thursday (December 18), the Lok Sabha passed the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) Bill, 2025 (VB-G RAM G), which seeks to repeal the 20-year-old MGNREGA, by a voice vote, amid the Opposition’s protest.

LDF also plans protest over education Bill

The LDF is also preparing to mount a strong political campaign against the Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan Bill, which the Left government sees as a serious challenge to federal principles and state autonomy in higher education. The Bill has emerged as a second major plank of the LDF’s agitation strategy, particularly aimed at mobilising students, teachers and academic institutions.

Addressing a press conference at the Secretariat on Wednesday (December 17), State Higher Education Minister Dr R Bindu described the proposed central legislation as one that would “create a severe crisis in the higher education sector” and said it amounted to a “complete violation of federal principles.”

She pointed out that while higher education falls under the Concurrent List, the Bill seeks to place it entirely under the Union government’s control.

Also read: After local poll gains, UDF allies split over bringing Kerala Congress (M) back

Referring to specific provisions, the minister also noted that clauses requiring councils and regulatory bodies to function strictly in accordance with Union government policies would effectively sideline the states. She warned that even the limited grant mechanisms that existed earlier were being withdrawn, with funding routed exclusively through the Ministry of Education.

This, the CPI(M) leader said, would enable the Centre to impose its education policies on the states and potentially deny funds to states such as Kerala that resist such directives. She said strong protests will be organised against this Bill, which critics say would also allow the Centre to directly intervene in matters related to curriculum and syllabus, including in institutions that are fully funded by the states.

Party also faces discomfort over VC issues

However, there is also an unease within the CPI(M) over the manner in which the chief minister appeared to concede ground to the state governor over appointments of vice chancellors (VCs), despite a Supreme Court ruling that was widely seen as one to curb the governor’s role.

The government changed its stance to appoint Ciza Thomas, who was strongly backed by the governor, as the VC of Kerala Technological University (KTU); while Saji Gopinath, the government’s preferred choice, was appointed the VC of Digital University Kerala. Critics said it was part of an understanding.

The CPI(M)’s state secretariat is learnt to have expressed dissatisfaction as well. It viewed the matter as the CM’s unilateral compromise with Lok Bhavan, arguing that conceding on KTU weakened the government’s position amid the ongoing confrontation over autonomy in higher education.

Also read: Kerala’s LSG polls: What is behind Congress' stunning comeback?

Within the party, the decision to foreground the two central legislations is being viewed as a deliberate political reset after the LSG elections, where the LDF slipped behind the United Democratic Front (UDF) and lost ground in several traditional strongholds ahead of the Assembly polls set to be held in a few months.

Self-assessment after LSG poll rout

Internal assessments have acknowledged lapses in grassroots mobilisation, weakened engagement with beneficiary groups and a failure to effectively translate achievements of governance into electoral support.

Party leaders argue that agitation politics around labour rights and education autonomy is not a departure from governance but an extension of it, particularly in a context where local bodies depend heavily on centrally funded schemes and regulatory space. The leadership believes that repositioning the LDF as the principal political force resisting centralisation will help consolidate its base ahead of the Assembly test.

As the post-LSG political churn continues, the LDF’s shift to agitation mode signals a clear attempt to reframe the political narrative. Whether the mobilisation around labour and education can translate into renewed grassroots support remains to be seen, but the alliance has made it clear that confrontation, not retreat, will define its response to the electoral setback.

CPI(M) thinks mass base still strong

The party's state secretariat assessed that despite the defeat in the LSG elections and setbacks in certain key areas, the CPI(M)’s mass base remains largely intact and that it has effectively recovered from the major slump it suffered in the last Lok Sabha elections when it won just one seat in the state.

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According to the party’s internal assessment, the LDF currently holds an advantage in 64 Assembly constituencies, just seven short of an absolute majority — a gap the leadership believes can be bridged.

The analysis further noted that the UDF’s edge in the local body polls was primarily the result of landslide performances in a limited number of districts such as Malappuram, Ernakulam, Idukki, Pathanamthitta and Kottayam.

In contrast, districts with a higher concentration of Assembly constituencies continue to favour the LDF, according to the party’s assessment.

Based on this reading, the CPI(M) has concluded that moving decisively into agitation mode and sharpening its anti-BJP positioning would be the most effective political course for both the party and the alliance in the coming days.