With the CBI court clearing Vijayan of the charges levelled against him in the SNC Lavalin case, Kerala politics in general and CPI(M) politics in particular are set to undergo a momentous metamorphosis.

Passing the order on Vijayan’s discharge petition, CBI special judge R Reghu held that the prosecution had failed to establish the dishonest and fraudulent intention, misuse of official position and cheating attributed to the accused. The judge also scrapped the chargesheet filed by the CBI against the accused terming it as groundless. The case pertained to alleged corruption amounting to Rs 374.50 crore in a deal between the Kerala State Electricity Board and Canadian company SNC Lavalin for renovating hydroelectric power projects at Panniyar, Senkulam and Pallivasal in Kerala while Vijayan was the Power Minister.

The sense of jubilation pervading the camps of the CPI(M) and other Left Democratic Front constituents like the CPI, RSP and the Janata Dal(S) is understandable. For, the verdict has come as a big boost for the LDF in general and the CPI(M) in particular. One thing can be said without fear of contradiction. Kerala politics will never be the same now.

The situation post-verdict is saturated with delicious ironies, too. Perhaps the most gracious response has come from leader of the opposition, V S Achuthanandan, who has never shied away from using the Lavalin weapon against Vijayan in his inner-party battle for supremacy. VS said that, in the light of the verdict, which he welcomed, his earlier views on the issue have become irrelevant.

How Vijayan, who is soaking in the palpable sense of relief at having pushed into the past his decade-long political persecution, reacts to VS’s positive response will be watched with keen interest not only by the CPI(M) activists but also by the people in the State.

In his response, Vijayan has, rightly, said that the verdict in the Lavalin case should mark the end of the misuse of the CBI to settle political scores and frame opponents. Here is a golden opportunity for him to practise the forgive-and-forget approach in his own party. The happy occasion should see a genuine Vijayan effort, in his hour of triumph, to take VS along in the larger interest of the party in the days to come. It won’t be easy, given the bitterness created by their long rivalry, but it is not impossible to achieve it either.

True, Vijayan has emerged stronger in the wake of the court order. And conversely, it represents a setback or sorts for VS. The party’s central leadership will also have to give greater weightage for Vijayan’s views hereafter. The temptation to exact revenge on VS would be almost irresistible. But wisdom lies in a genuine patch-up with Achuthanandan, who has already announced his decision not to contest any future elections. A Vijayan-VS modus vivendi is the best thing that can happen for the Kerala CPI(M). Needless to say, any negative approach by both the leaders would spell disaster for the party and the front led by it, which are all set to dethrone the thoroughly discredited UDF Government led by Oommen Chandy.

Admittedly, difficult days are ahead for the Congress-led UDF Government. Speculation is already rife that the State capital would now see efforts to oust the badly battered Chandy Government, whose image has been sullied by the solar scam. The Lavalin verdict has opened the way for Vijayan’s re-entry to parliamentary politics. Evidently, it will be Vijayan who would be leading the LDF in the assembly elections in 2016. Unless there is a quick legal reverse in the case – the CBI has decided to appeal against the verdict - Pinarayi will become the Chief Minister in the event of an LDF victory, opening up the possibilities of a paradigm shift in Kerala politics and the Left movement. (IPA Service)