CPM has had enough of veteran Achutanandan
Indisputably, CPI(M)'s nonagenarian central committee member and Kerala's Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan is the most popular politician in the State and the most influential leader of his party in entire India. At 92, he is the senior-most Marxist leader, the only surviving member of the 32-man squad that had walked out of the national council of the CPI in 1964 to found the CPI(M) and the face of the left's struggles against corruption, political immorality and social evils.
It was his leadership which had made possible the left's thumping victories in the 2004 lok Sabha election and the 2006 Assembly poll in Kerala. In the 2011 State election, he led the left to the brink of victory. The only entity that does not understand his importance is his party, the CPI(M).
It mounted a sustained attack against him at its 21st Kerala State Conference held in Alappuzha from February 20 to 23 under the command of the then secretary, neo-liberalist Pinarayi Vijayan, and endorsed by general secretary Prakash Karat, terming him as a man with “anti-party mentality” and even a hypocrite who exaggerated own sacrifices.
Pained by all that, Mr Achuthanandan stayed away from the conference by even defying an ultimatum served by Mr Karat. The victimisation, despite pleas against it from leaders like Manik Sarkar and Biman Bose, did not end there: He was excluded from the reconstituted State committee, making his continuance as Opposition leader extremely difficult.
His crime: He questioned Mr Vijayan, his alleged corruption, the fascist culture the party acquired under him which had allegedly resulted in the brutal murder of a former partyman, Mr Karat's inability to check such tendencies, etc. The fact is that the CPI(M), even after getting reduced to smaller than several one-State regional formations, is refusing to see reality in its true colour.
The Marxists are in war at several levels: Between the West Bengal unit and the central leadership, between Politburo member Sitaram Yechury and Mr Karat, between the Karat-Vijayan combine and Mr Achuthanandan, etc. Such wars have nothing to do with ideology or proletarian cause. They are power wars, normal in any weakening political party, struggling to stay afloat in a world of adversities.
After ruling the party for 17 long years, Mr Vijayan's dream is said to be to become the Chief Minister of Kerala. But winning the 2016 Assembly poll will not be easy for his party and the lDF it leads. It will be foolish for Mr Vijayan to expect Mr Achuthanandan to lead a poll campaign — even if the latter’s age permits that — to enthrone him after what he did to him.
A new secretary, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, has taken charge in the Kerala party. Mr Balakrishnan used to be a loyalist of Mr Vijayan but he is also seen as a diplomat keeping a warm relationship with Mr Achuthanandan. Right now, that is the only hope for the Kerala Marxists to avoid a West Bengal-like situation in the next election.