The ruling CPM in Kerala, which lost the recent Thrikkakara bypoll, has decided to appoint a commission to study the reasons behind the debacle. Former ministers T P Ramakrishnan and A K Balan will be the members of the panel.

The commission will examine if the candidate selection affected the result and if there was an erosion from its traditional vote base.

The decision was taken by the CPM state committee which met in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. The state committee approved the report on the bypoll prepared by the Ernakulam district committee. Thrikkakara assembly segment falls in Ernakulam district.

The party state leadership decided to engage a commission to study the bypoll outcome following the conclusion that the party could not poll votes in Thrikkakara as expected despite carrying out a massive electioneering. Several ministers and scores of MLAs belonging to the Left front had camped in Thrikkakara to lead the campaign for the bypoll.

CPM candidate Dr Jo Joseph was defeated by Congress' Uma Thomas by a margin of over 25,000 votes in the bypoll held on May 31. The bypoll was necessitated with the death of Congress legislator P T Thomas. Uma is the widow of Thomas. The magnitude of the defeat shocked the CPM-led Left Democratic Front as it had used the might of its entire election machinery in the constituency.

The CPM state committee and secretariat are of the view that the party continues to be unable to make inroads into Ernakulam. At the state committee, the Ernakulam unit of the party was criticised for the persisting factionalism there, sources said.

The CPM had taken disciplinary action against leaders including district secretariat members following the defeat in three constituencies in the 2021 assembly polls.