Internal feud likely to change Kerala CPM

It will be a difficult task for the newly-elected politburo and the general secretary of CPM. The factional feud in the Kerala unit between two politburo members V S Achuthanandan and Pinarayi Vijayan has intensified further since the state conference.

Pinarayi Vijayan, who is also the secretary of the state unit, said at a book release function that there was an organised move to sabotage People's Planning Programe. It was the brainchild of late E M S Namboothiripad.

On reading between the lines of Vijayan, it is clear that the target is none other than V S Achuthandan who planned the move to oust Thomas Issac and M A Baby from the state committee of the party.

It was M N Vijayan, a noted intellectual of the state, vehemently criticised Issac for implementing Peoples Plan through a magazine called Padam of which he was the editor.

It is now well known that Vijayan was acting on the instructions of the V S faction in the party.

In a public address on Sunday, Pinarayi Vijayan stated that M N Vijayan tried to sabotage the party in the state and tried to mobilise mass support for the ouster of Harkishen Singh Surjeet from the post of general secretary.

It is very important that the statement came on the eve of 18th congress of the party. He was trying to indicate that V S Achuthanandan and his colleagues are anti-Surjeet and should not be considered for the top posts of the party.

At the recent state conference of the party at Malappuram Achuthanandan faction fielded 12 candidates for the state committee poll, but to everyones surprise no one succeeded.

According to political observers, VS faction had an absolute majority in the state conference, but the result was reversed. To their dismay the arch rivals of VS, M A Baby, Issac, P Sasi and P Rajeev were elected to the august body with a comfortable majority.

The state secretariat has not yet been constituted and it will be after the party congress. This will be a tug-of-war between the two factions and Pinarayi will try to oust two strong supporters of VS, S Sharma and P K Gurudasan though it will be a Herculean task.

But he is trying to gain a better foothold in the politburo and the recent statement is in tune with this. VS now has strong support from only one politburo member E Balanandan, but is not strong enough to tide over the situation.

Theoretically, it is a feud between traditional party workers and the liberal comrades in the party. But it is quiet sure that CPM is under the strong grip of leaders who are in favour of globalisation and privatisation.

If Prakash Karat becomes the next general secretary there will be a new face to the party according to the changed scenario which will change the party into a social democratic one and will no longer be a revolutionary party.