THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In West Bengal, the CPM comrades were late in recognising the detrimental effects of prolonged power on its members. It was only after their defeat in 2011, following a 34-year reign, that the party realised the emergence of negative tendencies in the behaviour and functioning of its cadres due to continuously staying in power. Now, their counterparts in Kerala are already facing the challenges that come with a protracted stay in power, even though the Pinarayi Vijayan government has been in office for only seven years.
The state unit of CPM and its student wing, the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), have recognized that extended periods of rule come with consequences. The CPM has taken steps to discipline individuals who have tarnished the party’s reputation and the governance of the Left Democratic Front (LDF). Similarly, the SFI’s state and national leadership are introspecting and evaluating their actions following serious allegations of document forgery and the manipulation of their members and officials.
“A majority of our workers in Kerala were enrolled in the SFI at the time of the Pinarayi government in 2016 and after,” a national leader told TNIE. “It is clear that it had a bad effect on the organisation. The quality has been affected. The issue involving Nikhil Thomas, of MSM College, is a good example of this. A section of them thinks that continuous rule will help them make a profession in parliamentary politics through SFI. Another section thinks that they can use the rule of the LDF and the organisation to gain jobs. That was evident in the recent controversies involving Divya,” she said.
A state office-bearer told TNIE that certain SFI units on campuses have shown post-modern tendencies, exemplified by incidents like the depiction of Lord Ayyappa in a poster at Sree Kerala Varma College and problems at University College.” The issue surrounding Nikhil is very serious. We are taking action whenever incidents are reported in the media,” he said. The CPM has already instructed the SFI to come up with a clean slate. The student camp to be held next month is aimed at rectification.
The CPM secretariat has approved a rectification campaign, with the party taking swift action under the leadership of M V Govindan, the state secretary. Disciplinary measures have already been taken in Palakkad, Ernakulam, and Alappuzha. The party believes that the prolonged exercise of power has influenced some of its members.