PINARAYI VIJAYAN
Kerala chief minister
KERALA
Vijayan, they said, was “the captain” who successfully steered the state through crises—cyclone, floods, the pandemic, and so on. Critics sneered that it was against Marxist principles to promote a cult of personality.
That Vijayan played a pivotal role in the CPI(M) retaining power in Kerala is undeniable. Now, in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls, too, the CPI(M) is relying on him to help the party avert the risk of losing its status as a national party. The CPI(M) needs to win at least 2 per cent of seats in the Lok Sabha (11 seats) from three states to retain its iconic hammer, sickle and star symbol in 2026. Hopes rest heavily on Kerala, the party’s last bastion in the country.
The state’s electoral dynamics poses a challenge, though. The CPI(M)’s primary opponent in Kerala, the Congress, is also its national alliance partner. There is a direct fight between the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front in all 20 seats in the state. This means Vijayan and the LDF must strike a balance in opposing the BJP and the Congress.
In an extensive email interview with THE WEEK, Vijayan spoke about issues ranging from the CPI(M)’s political strategy in and outside Kerala, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s candidature in Wayanad, and the Union government’s “misusing” of investigative agencies. Excerpts:
Q/ Your party is part of a coalition that aims to bring down the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance at the Centre. How do you strike a balance between criticising the Congress in Kerala and allying with it at the national level?
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 28, 2024-Ausgabe von THE WEEK India.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent ? Anmelden
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der April 28, 2024-Ausgabe von THE WEEK India.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
Divides And Dividends
Contrasting narratives on the scrapping of Article 370 define the elections in Jammu and Kashmir
Playing it cool
Everybody knows what 420 means in the Indian context. But in American parlance it is something very different: four-twenty or 4/20 or April 20 denotes cannabis celebration; its cultural references are rooted in the hippie culture of the 1960s and 1970s.
The heroine's new clothes
Who else but Sanjay Leela Bhansali could bring on a wardrobe reset like the one in his just-dropped period piece—an eight-part Netflix series called Heeramandi?
AI & I
Through her book Code Dependent—shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction—Madhumita Murgia gives voice to the voiceless multitudes impacted by artificial intelligence
Untold tales from war
Camouflaged is a collection of 10 deeply researched stories, ranging from the world wars to the 26/11 terror attacks
Hair force
Sheetal Mallar, in her photobook Braided, uses hair as a metaphor to tell a story that is personal yet universal
THE WHITE TIGER GAVE ME CONFIDENCE IN MY ABILITIES
The first time Adarsh Gourav made an impression was in Ramin Bahrani's 2021 film The White Tiger, a gripping adaptation of Aravind Adiga's Booker-winning novel.
The art of political protest
The past doesn’t always remain in the past. Sometimes, it emerges in the present, reminding us about the universality and repetitiveness of the human experience. Berlin’s George Grosz Museum, a tiny gem, is a startling reminder that modern political and social ills are not modern. Grosz lived through World Wars I and II, shining a torch into the heart of darkness in high-ranking men and women—who were complicit in the collapse of the world as they knew it.
REFUELLING DYING SATELLITES
A Chennai company is making waves in the world of space tech startups
DIVERSITY IN UNITY
THE SOUTH ASIAN COMMUNITY IN THE US HAS SEVERAL THINGS IN COMMON, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE UPCOMING ELECTIONS, THERE ARE WIDELY DIFFERING OPINIONS AND FEELINGS