A mere fever felled the veteran fighter. Or so the CPI (M) in Kerala would want people to believe. When Leader of the Opposition V S Achuthanandan (90) made himself scarce from the all-important party plenum that ended on Friday in Palakkad, the official reason cited for his absence was high temperature.
But the “fever” could have had more to do with the leader’s temper than temperature. After all, Achuthanandan was sidelined in the plenum by his fellow partymen for his anti-party policies, prompting him to quit midway.
State party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan while presenting the organisational report constantly referred to Achuthanandan’s ill health for failing to attend the sessions, sending out a clear message to him and others—it was time for the old warhorse to retire. Not the one to take a snub lying down, Achuthanandan adopted the same tactics that he has whenever he has been sidelined at gatherings—leave abruptly to make his displeasure known and work public mood in his favour.
But this plenum could well have spelt a permanent reversal in Achuthandan’s fortunes. The last time the state conference was held in Palakkad in 1998, Achuthanadan, at the height of his power following his party’s victory in the 1996 election had seen to it that the CITU lobby, which he felt had engineered his defeat at the Mararikkulam Assembly seat, was decimated. Then CPI(M) politburo members Vijayan and M A Baby were ironically in the VS camp. Fifteen years down the line, Achuthanandan hoisted the flag to mark the beginning of the party plenum at the same venue, and that was where the similarities ended. He was made to sit alone in the town hall verandah, waiting to be called for the flag hoisting ceremony. He was given a chance to speak at the inaugural ceremony and he wound up his speech in a few minutes saying there was the need to strengthen the labour movements against exploitation of monopolists. Interestingly, party general secretary Prakash Karat did not engage in any serious talk with Achuthanandan and confined himself to wishing him and moving on.
Taciturn and uncompromising, Achuthanadan probably has more enemies than any other politician in the state. Virulent opposition notwithstanding, he is also the most popular political leader. However, now he is left with very few options. He can criticise the party at the cost of losing his place in it. His age defeats the support he commands. The general public, who admire him as a political hero, may not accept him at the hustings. On the other hand, the veteran could well turn the tide in his favour again, making it another political sunrise.