THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPM’s well-calculated move to put out the fire that has been blazing for a month after P V Anvar’s revelations appears to have worked in its favour for the time being with the Nilambur MLA appearing to have fallen in line. The CPM fielded its star rescuer during crisis, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, for the job which he executed meticulously.
By ruling out all allegations against the home department and his trusted political secretary P Sasi, the CM has passed the ball to Anvar’s court.
“Either Anvar can remain with the LDF as an obedient MLA or he can take a call,” a CPM leader told TNIE. “The CM was actually addressing his own party cadres who have been lately found standing behind Anvar like they found a ‘Nilambur Che Guevara’.
The message is clear no one is larger than the party organisation. By putting Anvar under the suspicion of doubt in the gold smuggling issues without even naming him, Pinarayi has tactically neutralised the former. Now the sharpness of Anvar’s words will be lost,” he said.
The repercussions are already appearing in the CPM cyber world with many cadres and supporters quoting the CM’s statements about how Anvar had not responded to the call of the CMO for a meeting. One such community, CPM Cyber Commune, has declared that if someone started to harm the party he would be rejected.
The CPM leadership has been closely watching Anvar’s move and was of the opinion that he had been orchestrating the commotion with support from outside the party. It also took seriously the support given by another CPM independent MLA K T Jaleel and former MLA Karat Razak. P V Anvar, K T Jaleel, V Abdurahiman and Karat Razak have played an important role in the CPM’s efforts to make inroads into the Muslim minority community.
They also opened the CPM’s account in Malappuram, a citadel of the Muslim League. Anvar has been winning the Nilambur constituency since 2016. K T Jaleel has represented Thavanoor since 2006 and Abdurahiman in Tirur from 2016. Karat Razak won the Koduvally seat in 2016 but lost in 2021. These three leaders have been winning the seats by defeating IUML candidates and holding a strong voice both in the government and the CPM.
It was Pinarayi Vijayan’s decision that resulted in using the estranged League and Congress leaders to capture enemy seats. “Leaders like Jaleel have played an important role in helping the CPM-led LDF government build good relations with a section of the influential Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama,” a senior leader from Malabar told TNIE.
“The party had taken strong positions on issues like CAA and minority rights. However, the party realised by the 2019 and 2024 general elections the Muslim votes were not helping the party or the LDF. And it was also revealed that by the 2024 election that the party’s core Hindu votes were eroding. The election review discussions were also an eye-opener for the party,” he said.
The CPM was also wary of the language used by Anvar. “He has been raising the same view of political Islamists like Jamaat-e-Islami in the issue of gold smuggling by accusing that it is an attempt to portray Malappuram as the district where most crimes are recorded. And Jaleel and Razak’s open support is also seen as a signal,” he said.
Repercussions appear
The repercussions are already appearing in the CPM cyber world with many cadres and supporters quoting the CM’s statements about how Anvar had not responded to the call of the CMO for a meeting. One such community, CPM Cyber Commune, has declared that if someone started to harm the party he would be rejected
Congress waves ‘No Entry’
Senior Congress leaders have categorically declared that Anvar would not be invited to join Congress, given his recent statements against the party
