KOTTAYAM: The political landscape of Kerala is no stranger to leaders switching parties or moving between parties over disagreements or a sense of being overlooked, especially as election looms.
What sets this election apart, however, is a mass exodus of leaders from deeply ideological parties like the CPM and CPI, known for their radical political beliefs.
Even as whispers suggest the LDF has veered right under the second Pinarayi Vijayan government, the departure of eight top LDF figures, who are either sitting MLAs or former MLAs, to contest under the UDF or NDA banner is an unprecedented development in Kerala’s political narrative.
Additionally, the CPM fortress Kannur, renowned for its organisational discipline, is experiencing an unprecedented political upheaval ahead of the assembly elections, with two prominent party leaders - a district committee member and a district secretariat member- quitting the party and preparing to contest polls with the support of the UDF.
The exodus began with P V Anwar, who was elected from Nilambur constituency as a CPM-backed independent in the 2021 elections, severing ties with CPM approximately a year-and-a-half ago.
Following his lead, former CPM MLAs S Rajendran of Devikulam, P Aisha Potty of Kottarakkara, G Sudhakaran of Ambalappuzha, and P K Sasi of Shoranur have left the party. S Rajendran will contest as BJP candidate from Devikulam, while the others are running as UDF candidates in this election. Meanwhile, speculations are rife that CPM’s sitting MLA of Nenmara, K Babu is also dissatisfied with party leadership, and Congress is reportedly attempting to bring him to the UDF.
CPI has also faced significant setbacks, with its Nattika sitting MLA C C Mukundan joining the BJP after being expelled from the party for raising allegations of ‘payment seat’ in Nattika.
Additionally, K Ajith, former CPI MLA of Vaikom, recently joined BJP. Both will contest as BJP candidates from their respective constituencies. Former CPM Kannur district secretariat member T K Govindan will be contesting from Taliparamba and former district committee member V Kunhikrishnan from Payyannur with UDF’s support.
Though it is too premature to say whether this will affect the election results, it has dealt a major political blow to the LDF. Political analysts attribute the scenario as a consequence of LDF’s shift towards the rightward policy movement and its subsequent increase in parliamentary ambitions, which have prompted such defections.
G Gopakumar, political analyst and former vice chancellor of Central University of Kerala, noted that these events highlight the erosion of the communist parties’ cadre-based nature.
“The CPM and CPI have lost their working-class identity after a decade in power. They have become an ordinary parliamentary bourgeois party, losing the radical essence of a revolutionary party and fostering parliamentary aspirations among leaders,” he said.
He added that migration of leaders to UDF and NDA indicates a loss of ideological integrity within both CPM and CPI.