CPI(M) crisis in Kerala far from being over

A reprimand for Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and his bete noire Pinarayi Vijayan for indiscipline may have sent shock waves across political circles. But in the comrades' own country, it has just meant a temporary truce.

Though both the Kerala stalwarts have swallowed the bitter pill of being thrown out of the Politburo, the battle lines between them remain drawn and, as many fear, may get sharper in the coming days. Just two days after the action against the Kerala leaders in Delhi, their rivalries again came out into the open. The Pinarayi-headed state CPI(M) has retaliated, though in a smaller way, by taking disciplinary action against Achuthanandan's supporters in Alphuzha.

While comrades in the AKJ Bhawan wear the usual stoic silence over "party matters", a senior party leader told Business Standard that "we know that the factionalism in Kerala can not be wished away with this action". However, since the infighting in "Kerala had spilled over to the streets, a harsh step was needed to save the situation from getting worse."

Visibly embarrassed by the happenings in Kerala, the party cadres, however, say that groupism in Kerala has remained localised and the state units elsewhere never got inflicted with it. This may also be the reason why Achuthanandan and Pinarayi would continue to fight proxy battles is the party elections to be held within the next six months. Pinarayi, who at present controls the party, is likely to find a challenge in Achuthanandan, whose popularity is on the rise.

Leaders from other parties like the Congress and BJP, where groupism and infighting are rampant, are visibly awed by the "comrades'" sense of discipline. "This can only happen in a cadre-based party like CPI(M)," said a senior Congress leader. Officially, the party has kept mum over its ally's internal affairs.

Balbir Punj, who has charge of BJP unit in Kerala, said that the action reflected "incompatibility of the Stalin-era communist ideology with the neo-liberal values of modern times." He predicted that the Kerala crisis for CPI(M) may deepen further.