Cracks in Kerala CPI-M, Jayarajan steps in as dissent grows against Vijayan
Thiruvananthapuram: For perhaps the first time in nearly three decades, the unquestioned authority of Pinarayi Vijayan within the CPI-M and the Left movement in Kerala is facing open turbulence from within party ranks.
Days after the crushing Assembly poll debacle that reduced the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front to just 35 seats, senior party leader P. Jayarajan broke his silence amid a growing wave of support for him and mounting anger against the present state leadership.
In a carefully worded Facebook post, Jayarajan appealed to CPI-M cadres to stop social media campaigns glorifying him while simultaneously attacking sections of the party leadership.
The intervention assumes significance at a time when both Vijayan and State CPI-M Secretary M.V. Govindan are facing unprecedented criticism from within the party after the Left’s worst ever electoral humiliation in Kerala.
In Kannur, long regarded as the ideological fortress of the CPI-M, posters surfaced demanding Jayarajan’s return to leadership.
One prominently displayed slogan read, “Call P. Jayarajan, save the party.”
There is also growing resentment among cadres against Kannur district secretary K.K. Ragesh, with many openly demanding a complete overhaul of the state and district leadership.
Jayarajan, however, attempted to rein in the rebellion.
Drawing a contrast with the Congress culture of raising slogans such as “Call Indira, call Sonia, save the Congress”, he reminded party workers that Communist organisational discipline was fundamentally different.
He urged cadres to avoid airing differences publicly through social media and instead raise criticism within party forums.
The developments mark a dramatic shift in Kerala politics.
Since becoming State CPI-M Secretary in 1997, Vijayan had steadily consolidated absolute control over both the party and later the government in Kerala.
From 2016 onward, after becoming the Chief Minister and leading the Left government to a historic consecutive term in 2021, dissent had virtually disappeared from public view.
That silence now appears broken, even as Kerala is eagerly waiting for Vijayan to break his silence too.