Strike the enemy when he is weak was a battle theory communists the world over used to subscribe to once, but the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha is now determined to put that theory into practice in Kannur, the Marxist heartland of Kerala, in order to spread its roots by making inroads into CPI(M) bastions and to try to put an end to Marxist supremacy in the district.
The Yuva Morcha plan is to intensify its campaigns across the district with the goal of broadbasing itself among the people. It aims to open a minimum of 1,000 local-level units in Kannur, which presently has the strongest CPI(M) unit in the entire country, by attracting disgruntled lower-level Marxist leaders, grassroots workers and fellow-travelers into its fold.
The outfit has selected this particular time for its efforts with the knowledge that the CPI(M) in Kannur is facing the worst credibility crisis after the brutal murder of RSS leader Manoj of Kathiroor on September 1. Even party members are saying that they are not prepared to accept the leadership's claims of innocence in the Manoj murder.
The Yuva Morcha effort includes a strategy to extend its activities to villages and areas which it has not been able to enter so far because of Marxist dominance. Such areas include the hundreds of "party villages" commanded and controlled by the CPI(M) and which have so far served as the safe hiding places for perpetrators of political violence in Kannur.
"We know well that thousands of CPI(M) workers and DYFI activists are disillusioned with the current political programmes and conduct of the Marxist party and its leaders. The only factor that keeps such people in the communist camp is fear," said a Yuva Morcha leader, pointing out that these activists would come to the BJP youth wing with the right kind of encouragement.
Independent observers in Kannur say that many of the "party villages" in Kannur, known hitherto as impregnable Marxist fortresses, are on the verge of a political explosion as the people are fed up with the authoritarianism of the local leaders. "To put a bit romantically, party villages are craving for a breath of freedom," said a college lecturer from Thalassery, Kannur.
"I have no idea how the BJP or its feeder outfit is going to cash in on this situation but it is a reality that party villages are no longer what they used to be a decade back. There is widespread discontent and this has been reflecting in the recent elections. Still, the other parties have been unable to concretely use the situation to their advantage," the lecturer said.
The Yuva Morcha feels that the CPI(M) is not in a position to attempt to counter its expansion programme with physical violence, allegedly the usual Marxist method in such situations, due to the unpopularity it has already earned with the murder of Manoj, Kannur district Sharirik Shikshan Pramukh of the RSS.
In a big blow to the CPI(M) in Kannur, more than 400 of its activists and fellow-travelers had joined the BJP at a function held in Kannur on August 24, creating a feeling that more Marxists might shift camps in the coming days. However, the district CPI(M) leaders claim that their activists had not left the party.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) central committee member EP Jayarajan, a top leader of the Kannur unit, on Sunday alleged that a high-level conspiracy was on to trap party's Kannur district secretary P Jayarajan in the Manoj murder case. "The police are torturing those arrested asking them to say that Jayarajan and his son Jain Raj had a role in the case," he alleged.