Kozhikode: The ruling Left Democratic Front's (LDF) rout in the Lok Sabha elections is expected to trigger heated discussions in the zonal meetings of the CPM, party sources said.

In the backdrop of the election defeat, the CPM is holding zonal meetings from July 3.

The meeting of the representatives from central zone would be held on July 3 at Ernakulam and the north zone would be in Kozhikode the next day.

The south zone meeting would be held in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5. Representatives from local committees, area committees and district committees would be attending the meetings.

Though CPM leaders are not openly admitting the inability to convince women members and sympathisers on its stand on the Sabarimala issue, they said on condition of anonymity the party “failed to convince even their women at home on the women's entry issue”.

A leader from Kozhikode told Onmanorama that it was a difficult phase for the party when “belief and rituals” stood in way of renaissance.

The toughest task was to convince the womenfolk within the party.

The booth level discussions found that “the party workers themselves paved way for the huge defeat in Kozhikode and there was nothing to blame the other parties”.

While the candidate factor (P Jayarajan) was the main reason for defeat in Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency, in Kozhikode, even one of the most popular leaders like sitting MLA A Pradeep Kumar faced a huge defeat.

Pradeep lost to M K Raghavan of Congress by a margin of 85,225 votes.

In Vadakara, CPM strongman and former Kannur district secretary P Jayarajan lost to K Muraleedharan of Congress by a margin of 84,663 votes.

After the zonal meetings, from July 22 to 29, a week-long house visits are planned.

The local leaders would take opinion from the grass root.

In August, as a continuation of the house visits, family gatherings would be organised at the local level. The aim of the house-based programmes is to win back the lost trust of the devotees, especially women.

Apart from the house visits, to reaffirm the party's foothold, the CPM would also promote palliative care, sources said.