Not much left

The CPI(M) needs a deconstruction

- BY JOSEPH C. MATHEW

THOUGH THE PEOPLE'S verdict was counted only on May 4, the LDF government had long lost its mandate, and, much before that, its left character. The party in Kerala was confined to the whims and fancies of one man: Pinarayi Vijayan. He became the party's state secretary in 1998, following the demise of Chadayan Govindan. Vijayan, then electricity minister, resigned and took up the leadership role.

Soon, he entered into a dialogue with the Muslim League for local body elections in 2000. In north Kerala, where he comes from, an electoral alliance with the League could have made the LDF unbeatable. However, in 1986, the CPI(M) had taken a policy decision not to align with any “communal party”, including the League. M.V. Raghavan—a leader with mass support—was expelled from the party for advocating such an alliance.

But Vijayan chose to ignore the party's decision.

Over the years, Vijayan forged stronger alliances and electoral adjustments with many communal organisations and parties.

His position against the RSS was sharp, and he stuck to it till he became chief minister in 2016. This could be attributed to the electoral politics of north Kerala, where the CPI(M) and the RSS often sorted out differences physically. In short, his piloting of the party was dictated by prospective parliamentary gains and he tended to ignore ideological positions, including those that were organisationally binding.