Inter-party feuds among political adversaries are hardly a surprise, even expected. But political Kerala is now witnessing a new genre of dirty linen washing by parties, which includes instances of alliance partners turning against one another. Express turns the clock back on factionalism’s genesis in various parties and the dramatis personae
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Being a ‘true Communist’ with ‘real Left’ allegiance has always been a matter of concern and contention in the predominantly Left-dominated political atmosphere of Kerala. No wonder, the CPI and the CPM - the two prominent Communist parties in the Left Democratic Front - have been engaged in a constant turf war in the state.
Obviously, the tussles have led to unending rifts between the CPM and the CPI, besides open factional wars within both parties.
The most controversial among the lot was the V S Achuthanandan vs Pinarayi Vijayan feud. VS, the only living communist leader among the 32 who left the CPI National Council in 1964 to form the CPM, has been sidelined within the party. On the other hand, Pinarayi - a three-time party state secretary - has become all-powerful.
The CPI too has witnessed factional wars between the Kanam Rajendran and K E Ismail factions for long. In 2012, the surprise selection of Pannian Raveendran as the state secretary happened after matters came to a head.
By 2015, the factional war was out in the open. Kanam,a prominent trade union leader by then, grabbed the top post, fighting off the powerful Ismail faction. By 2018, Kanam was able to more or less decimate his opponents within the party.
Since 2016 when Pinarayi Government took charge, Kanam became the poster boy of Kerala’s true Left psyche. Emerging as a ‘true’ opponent to Pinarayi, Kanam fully silenced his critics. Taking on Pinarayi on more than one occasion, he created an impression CPI is Kerala’s real Left party. Beginning with Maoist killings in Nilambur to regulations on making public cabinet information under RTI, the Law Academy land grab, the Jishnu Prannoy murder, back-to-back political killings, Munnar eviction drive, custodial deaths at Varapuzha and Nedumkandam, and finally the controversial move to grant magisterial powers to Commissioners - the CPI single-handedly opposed it all; mostly with Kanam right at the forefront.
The same Kanam now, seemingly unperturbed by the police brutality on party MLA Eldho Abraham. No wonder, the factional feud has raised its head once again.
Whenever Communists in Kerala have taken up the mantle of governance, they followed a peculiar but ideologically firm stance. Now, there seems to be a more practical shift in administrative setup, says Left commentator Appukkuttan Vallikkunnu.
“The current rift in the CPI should be viewed in this light. With his statement ‘we went up to them and got beaten up’, Kanam has made his stance clear. ‘
“It is an apolitical statement, similar to the government’s stance when leaders like M K Kelu and Arangil Sreedharan were brutally attacked by the police when CPI’s C Achutha Menon was the Chief Minister,” says Vallikkunnu.
Barring isolated incidents, the CPM and the CPI has been maintaining comparatively good relations. Both seem to be on some sort of a tentative ceasefire, though the CPI is unhappy with the current governance.
The Pinarayi government’s handling of Sabarimala hasn’t gone down well with many in the LDF. “The entry of the two women at Sabarimala soon after the Women’s Wall was nothing but a ‘Naraanath Branthan act’, But this does not seem to be the right time to discuss it within the front,” says a senior CPI leader, who prefers anonymity. Though there are tussles, political observers says the current rift within the CPI may not go deeper.
“The Left is in a precarious state. So any rift,whether inter or intra will prove costly in the long run. Hence, I feel the issues would die down on its own,” says political scientist J Prabhash.
Left commentator N M Pearson echoes this. “Barring emotional outbursts, the issue will not get out of the hand. The CPM and the CPI know that they cannot afford to have such skirmishes at such a crucial juncture,” he says.
True. The skirmishes over the Eldho Abraham episode may not last long. But the ripples it created will indeed remain for a while. If the Communists fail to realise the gravity of its consequences, they will pay a heavy price, maybe even lose their distinctive identity.