The Pinarayi Vijayan led Communist Party of India (Marxist) has created new historic records hitherto unknown in the annals of the tiny coastal state Kerala. Firstly it goes to his credit of returning the party government for the successive second time, which has never happened before since the early sixties.
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| Pinarayi Vijayan |
Now he is being acknowledged for installing an all-new faces cabinet barring him. Although elsewhere across the country former Health Minister Ms. KK Shailaja Teacher being left out of the ministry paved way for various types of speculations but it just turned out to be internal development of the left combine.Had it been the case with any other regional or national party in neighboring or other states the situation would have ideally transformed into a free fight for all, rebellion, resignations, and chaos. Thanks to the “Operations” these days, it’s really difficult to imagine the state of affairs in the event of similar developments elsewhere.
Perhaps that’s the big difference with Kerala and more so with the CPI (M) alliance. Since the beginning, the General Secretary of the Communist Parties has a greater say wielding more power than the Chief Minister himself.
This stark reality continues to be proved every now and then whenever a Left government is in the saddle. It’s no public secret that during the regime of VS Achuthanandan as CM, Pinarayi Vijayan as party General Secretary was calling the shots for all practical purposes.
VS Achuthanandan, a stalwart of his own kind tried to give back in vain. In the name of demolishing illegal holiday resorts in the tourist paradise Munar, he ventured to bulldoze the real estate interests of the state party chief. But ultimately he couldn’t achieve much.
Pinarayi Vijayan is also credited with building up the party infrastructure right from the village level to all possible stages, thus creating a party wealth running to five-digit crores! In a way, an introvert in public, Pinarayi Vijayan is also known as a no-nonsense person. He rarely speaks in length amidst public gatherings, but knows very well which card to drop to his advantage.
S Ramdas, Keralite Journalist, and Entrepreneur ponder: Unlike Congress, CPI (M) led ministries always had the party-state committees as a power center that is always above the cabinet and the CM. They take a call on almost all government policies…
…These state committees consist of a mix of left intellectuals, mass leaders, and interest group leaders such as trade unionists, farmer cooperative leaderships and so on. If you consider the history of left politics in Kerala and even in India, some of the members of these committees are quite disconnected from electoral politics. In fact, most of the central committee members from Yechury to Karat to the Sens’ cannot win an Assembly election anywhere in the country, he asserts.
However, these committees are way too powerful, and their decisions are at times disconnected from the sentiments of the people. And above all as in any political stream, there are powerful lobbies within these committees. A nexus that is quite strong in Kerala politics is the Kodiyeri-Pinarayi nexus and their supporters. Interestingly, vouching for them in most of the decisions are the party intellectuals who continue to quote Marx, Lenin, and Engels!
Just like the BJP and unlike the Congress, CPI (M) relies heavily on the various local committees for intelligence and inputs while decisions are taken at each level. At the same time hierarchies are quite strong, and the party has enough goons to ensure party workers and members are ‘disciplined’.
S Ramdas adds The policy even prior to the elections was that wherever possible it was decided not to repeat candidates who have won at least twice, and if only if there is no alternative this rule was more or less followed. It was also discussed that the new ministry if voted to power will have fresh faces…
…Just like exceptions were made for some exceptional candidates to contest, in the same manner, it was felt and widely rumored that KK Shailaja may be continued in the same ministry. More than that she was preferred by a significant number of people as a better choice than Pinarayi as the CM, he felt.
A peep into the internal deliberations of the party gives a different picture: Some state committee members had their own reservations as some of them had also been MLAs’ and ministers’ in the Pinarayi 1.0.
They felt that by singling out and making an exception for one leader, the party was sending the wrong message. One, it would mean that other ministers did not perform up to the mark. Secondly, the CPI (M) believes that the party is far bigger than individuals and does not want cults created!
But at the same time, several state committee members are uncomfortable with the larger-than-life image of the CM itself as most policies that have catapulted the party back to a historical second time are the creation of some intellectuals in the party and not the CM or ministers.
S Ramdas explains: However, removing Pinarayi and replacing him is not easy. He has a very strong lobby deep-rooted across all factions and various wings of the party like DYFI, CITU, and other such groups. A number of left supporters and liberals want to believe that KK Shailaja is the heir apparent to the CM post, and is a future CM candidate…
…There is no truth in that. She has a fair chance, but there are many others who are more qualified as per party traditions. What finally can tilt things to her favor would be purely how the future holds, he says.
However, most analysts believe that the members of Pinarayi 2.0 are collectively better than Pinarayi 1.0. If they outperform the previous regime, and the PR machinery of the CPI (M) continues to be successful in keeping things positive, then she might be even forgotten by the average person.
Some also predict: If the usual anti-incumbency factors weigh in, and the fatigue kicks in, the same party intellectuals would probably project her as the CM candidate in 2026 to somehow get a third term for the party.
Critics and detractors have been quick to point out that Mohammed Riyaz, the son-in-law of the CM has made it to the cabinet. So is R Bindu, wife of the state committee secretary A Vijayaraghavan.
However, Riyaz was the DYFI National President even before he became the son-in-law of Vijayan and R Bindu is the former Trichur Corporation Mayor. It is difficult to ignore their credentials and their track record and merely describe it as appointments via family connections, explains Ramdas.
CPI (M) goes the Patriarchal way: The decision to drop KK Shailaja is perceived as a patriarchal nature of the Marxist party with a lot of comparison with other women leaders who missed the CM post. A noted example is KR Gowri Amma passed away recently. In fact, it was almost presumed that she will lead the ministry in 1987, but the party chose EK Nayanar. On the other hand, KR Gowri Amma was packed off from the party on the pretext of anti-party activities. Similarly in 1996 EK Nayanar was chosen over Susheela Gopalan, wife of AK Gopalan, tallest leaders from the Communist party.
However, the new ministry will have three women ministers with Veena George, a media personality turned politician along with R Bindu from the CPI (M) and Rani named on behalf of the CPI.
-Manohar Yadavatti
Perhaps that’s the big difference with Kerala and more so with the CPI (M) alliance. Since the beginning, the General Secretary of the Communist Parties has a greater say wielding more power than the Chief Minister himself.
This stark reality continues to be proved every now and then whenever a Left government is in the saddle. It’s no public secret that during the regime of VS Achuthanandan as CM, Pinarayi Vijayan as party General Secretary was calling the shots for all practical purposes.
VS Achuthanandan, a stalwart of his own kind tried to give back in vain. In the name of demolishing illegal holiday resorts in the tourist paradise Munar, he ventured to bulldoze the real estate interests of the state party chief. But ultimately he couldn’t achieve much.
Pinarayi Vijayan is also credited with building up the party infrastructure right from the village level to all possible stages, thus creating a party wealth running to five-digit crores! In a way, an introvert in public, Pinarayi Vijayan is also known as a no-nonsense person. He rarely speaks in length amidst public gatherings, but knows very well which card to drop to his advantage.
S Ramdas, Keralite Journalist, and Entrepreneur ponder: Unlike Congress, CPI (M) led ministries always had the party-state committees as a power center that is always above the cabinet and the CM. They take a call on almost all government policies…
…These state committees consist of a mix of left intellectuals, mass leaders, and interest group leaders such as trade unionists, farmer cooperative leaderships and so on. If you consider the history of left politics in Kerala and even in India, some of the members of these committees are quite disconnected from electoral politics. In fact, most of the central committee members from Yechury to Karat to the Sens’ cannot win an Assembly election anywhere in the country, he asserts.
However, these committees are way too powerful, and their decisions are at times disconnected from the sentiments of the people. And above all as in any political stream, there are powerful lobbies within these committees. A nexus that is quite strong in Kerala politics is the Kodiyeri-Pinarayi nexus and their supporters. Interestingly, vouching for them in most of the decisions are the party intellectuals who continue to quote Marx, Lenin, and Engels!
Just like the BJP and unlike the Congress, CPI (M) relies heavily on the various local committees for intelligence and inputs while decisions are taken at each level. At the same time hierarchies are quite strong, and the party has enough goons to ensure party workers and members are ‘disciplined’.
S Ramdas adds The policy even prior to the elections was that wherever possible it was decided not to repeat candidates who have won at least twice, and if only if there is no alternative this rule was more or less followed. It was also discussed that the new ministry if voted to power will have fresh faces…
…Just like exceptions were made for some exceptional candidates to contest, in the same manner, it was felt and widely rumored that KK Shailaja may be continued in the same ministry. More than that she was preferred by a significant number of people as a better choice than Pinarayi as the CM, he felt.
A peep into the internal deliberations of the party gives a different picture: Some state committee members had their own reservations as some of them had also been MLAs’ and ministers’ in the Pinarayi 1.0.
They felt that by singling out and making an exception for one leader, the party was sending the wrong message. One, it would mean that other ministers did not perform up to the mark. Secondly, the CPI (M) believes that the party is far bigger than individuals and does not want cults created!
But at the same time, several state committee members are uncomfortable with the larger-than-life image of the CM itself as most policies that have catapulted the party back to a historical second time are the creation of some intellectuals in the party and not the CM or ministers.
S Ramdas explains: However, removing Pinarayi and replacing him is not easy. He has a very strong lobby deep-rooted across all factions and various wings of the party like DYFI, CITU, and other such groups. A number of left supporters and liberals want to believe that KK Shailaja is the heir apparent to the CM post, and is a future CM candidate…
…There is no truth in that. She has a fair chance, but there are many others who are more qualified as per party traditions. What finally can tilt things to her favor would be purely how the future holds, he says.
However, most analysts believe that the members of Pinarayi 2.0 are collectively better than Pinarayi 1.0. If they outperform the previous regime, and the PR machinery of the CPI (M) continues to be successful in keeping things positive, then she might be even forgotten by the average person.
Some also predict: If the usual anti-incumbency factors weigh in, and the fatigue kicks in, the same party intellectuals would probably project her as the CM candidate in 2026 to somehow get a third term for the party.
Critics and detractors have been quick to point out that Mohammed Riyaz, the son-in-law of the CM has made it to the cabinet. So is R Bindu, wife of the state committee secretary A Vijayaraghavan.
However, Riyaz was the DYFI National President even before he became the son-in-law of Vijayan and R Bindu is the former Trichur Corporation Mayor. It is difficult to ignore their credentials and their track record and merely describe it as appointments via family connections, explains Ramdas.
CPI (M) goes the Patriarchal way: The decision to drop KK Shailaja is perceived as a patriarchal nature of the Marxist party with a lot of comparison with other women leaders who missed the CM post. A noted example is KR Gowri Amma passed away recently. In fact, it was almost presumed that she will lead the ministry in 1987, but the party chose EK Nayanar. On the other hand, KR Gowri Amma was packed off from the party on the pretext of anti-party activities. Similarly in 1996 EK Nayanar was chosen over Susheela Gopalan, wife of AK Gopalan, tallest leaders from the Communist party.
However, the new ministry will have three women ministers with Veena George, a media personality turned politician along with R Bindu from the CPI (M) and Rani named on behalf of the CPI.
-Manohar Yadavatti
Krishna Itnal. Article written without bias. Second thing, the other parties have to learn something from his act.Third,he was the man who suffered most during emergency, which Kerala people have not forgotten to this day.On the contrary, it is told that BJP in West Bengal elections, along with man power ,used money power to the maximum, which,hitherto west Bengal had not seen.Do try to get it published in a leading daily paper. All the best.
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