The knives are out with the Leader of the Opposition, V. S. Achuthanandan, once again launching a fierce onslaught against the State CPI(M) leadership. The façade of unity has come off, and the State CPI(M) seems headed for another bout of internecine war of words..

The VS ‘volte-face’, not entirely unexpected, came at the recent meeting of the CPI(M) Central Committee. The CPI(M) stalwart, who had patched up with the state party leadership just before the elections much to the surprise of his own followers, made no secret of his displeasure at the below-par performance of the State CPI)M) in the Lok Sabha elections, and squarely blamed it on the State party leadership.

So exercised was VS over the party’s failure to cash in on the anti-Congress sentiment across the country that he urged the Central Committee to fix the responsibility for the party’s lacklustre show in the parliamentary elections besides initiating an organizational revamp in the Kerala unit.

The timing of VS’s attack is also significant. With the party congress only months away, the CPI(M) veteran is believed to be positioning himself for pressing ahead with his long-standing demand for a change in the State party leadership. Also, the attack came at a time when the state leadership is still smarting under its failure to put up a good show in the Lok Sabha elections.

Equally significant has been the absence of any response from the State CPI(M) leaders, including party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan and his staunch loyalists. Yet another U-turn by VS may not have surprised them, but their refusal, so far, to rebut his criticism is intriguing.

There are also signs that the equations within the Kerala CPI(M) may undergo a shift. It may be premature to rush to conclusions. But there is no denying that more leaders have started voicing their unhappiness over the handling of the party affairs by the present Kerala CPI(M) leadership.

The continuing debate over the CPI(M) Politburo member M. A. Baby’s desire to resign as the MLA from Kundara will illustrate the point. Though the state CPI(M) leadership has denied Baby’s offer to resign, the latter is learnt to be insistent on quitting the MLA’s post. His reason: even in his own constituency, Kundara, the RSP candidate. N. K. Premachandran led him by more than 6800 votes. That being the reality, he has no moral right to continue as an MLA. The forthcoming meeting of the State CPI(M) secretariat and state committee starting from June 21 may take a final decision in the matter as directed by the Politburo.

Besides, Baby is learnt to be unhappy about the uncharitable remark made by Pinarayi against Premachandran. The former had called the latter a ‘stinker’ in the heat of the election campaign. A section of the CPI(M) leaders believes that the uncalled for remark alienated a sizable section of neutral voters, resulting in the defeat of Baby in Kollam. Baby and another CPI(M) candidate who lost from Kozhikode, A. Vijayaraghavan also felt that their loss could also be attributed to the organizational flaws.

In fact, VS has also criticized Vijayan for the state leadership’s failure to retain RSP in the LDF. With a bit of diplomacy, the RSP could have been persuaded to stay on in the LDF, VS is said to have remarked at the CC meeting. Achuthanandan also referred to a situation prior to the 2009 LS elections. Then, the CPI(M) leadership’s refusal to give Kozhikode seat to the MP Veerendra Kumar-led Janata Dal forced them to quit the LDF and cross over to the UDF. It resulted in the LDF losing the sure seat of Kozhikode to the Congress. In 2014 also, if the RSP had been given the Kollam seat, the LDF would have won it hands down. Not only Kollam; the front would have won Mavelikkara as well. In Mavelikkara, the UDF candidate won only because of the decision of the RSP, which has considerable strength in the constituency, to join the UDF.

VS also pointed out that the state leadership had dismally failed to convince the rank and file of the correctness of its decision to expel only one of the three CPI(M) members who had been sentenced to life imprisonment in the TP Chandrashekharan murder case. VS said the other two members should also be expelled from the party. That alone will restore the party’s credibility, he opined. Achuthanandan also felt, rightly so, that the TP murder issue did have a bearing on the oucome in at least a few constituencies including Vadakara and Kozhikode.

Against this murky backdrop, the state CPI(M) leadership would do well to indulge in a bit of introspection, and initiate immediate corrective action. There is no alternative to hard work which would mean going back to the basics. The state leadership must also resist the temptation to wield the sword of discipline against those expressing a view which is at odds with that of the state leadership. Incidentally, in his speech at the CC meeting, VS had laid considerable accent on this aspect. (IPA Service)