How CPI(M) cracks the whip and Pinarayi Vijayan toes the line

In a state where CPI(M) runs the government, the most powerful person is not usually the Chief Minister, but it’s the party secretary.

For a cadre-based party like the CPI(M), the Kerala CM and the cabinet are supposed to adhere to the decisions taken by the party, especially when it comes to matters regarding policy decisions. In a state like Kerala, where the CPI (M) comes to power every alternate term (with an exception this time), the party secretary has been the centre of power.

In the CPI (M), there is no practice of a leader quitting the position of the party secretary to be a minister or CM and in fact, they do the opposite. Pinarayi Vijayan quit his post as cabinet minister in 1997 and took over as the party chief. In 2022, M V Govindan also did the same. By following such practices, CPI (M) categorically makes it clear the party is more powerful than the cabinet and the minister’s position is inferior to that of the party secretary.

Party cracks the whip

However, this perception has changed since 2016 after Pinarayi Vijayan became the CM of Kerala. Vijayan was perceived to be the single power centre in the party though the late Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, the then party secretary, was known to be his ‘left hand’ who never expressed his differences with the CM or the government in public. However, the new party secretary M V Govindan seems to be deviating from this style of functioning by clearly indicating that the government should strictly adhere to the policy decisions taken by the party.

Also read: Chequered past of PFI: Formed to confront CPI-M, now in crosshairs of right wing

The recent decision taken by the cabinet to increase the age of the pensioners of the state PSU employees was withheld the very next day after M V Govindan’s open statement that the party had no knowledge of it. As soon as the announcement increasing the age of the pensioners to 60 years was made, all the Opposition parties reacted to the news with a hostile response.

The Youth Congress launched an agitation demanding the decision to be reviewed. The Democratic Youth Federation of India, the CPI (M)’s youth wing, had to face a lot of embarrassment on social media since they were showered with questions asking them to make their stand clear on the matter. Very soon, party secretary M V Govindan told the media that the decision was taken without being discussed in the party forum. In no time, the government declared that the decision was put on hold.

In Pinarayi Vijayan’s tenure since 2016 this is the first time he had to withdraw a decision in not fewer than 48 hours since it was not approved by the party.

The unperturbed stubborn party chief 

M V Govindan, popularly known as Govindan Master, has the image of a clean communist and intellectual, who was in charge of the party school (EMS Academy) and has a clear vision of Marxist ideology. His elevation to the party secretary position was welcomed in general with a view that M V Govindan is capable of correcting the party if it deviates in the wrong direction. He was elevated to the position of party chief in August 2022, when it was confirmed that the former Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who was suffering from cancer was on his last days. His elevation to the position once again emphasised the unquestionable domination of the ‘Kannur lobby’ in the party.

Also read: Kerala governor pushing BJP’s political objectives: CPI(M)

M V Govindan, unlike Vijayan, projects a smiling but stubborn appearance to the media. Right from the beginning, he successfully created the impression that he would not be shaken by controversies. The latest one involving the ongoing squabble over appointments in the health department under the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation is the topic of discussion in Kerala now.

The case of the ‘forged’ letter

A letter, purportedly written by mayor Arya Rajendran to district secretary Anavoor Nagappan, was leaked to the media. This letter asks for a list of candidates (those who are chosen by the party) to be appointed to fill up the vacancies in the health department. The letter is printed in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation mayor’s letter head, but the party maintained that the letter is a forged one and the mayor has not sent any missive to the district secretary who also denied receiving one.

Mayor Arya Rajendran gave a complaint to the CM demanding an investigation into the matter. M V Govindan, while meeting the press, categorically stated that this was an attempt to malign the party and he would bring out the truth with a proper inquiry. Though he strongly defended the party, the mystery regarding the letter is yet to be solved.

No two factions in the party

Political observers closely watching the CPI (M), however, felt that MV Govindan’s disclosure about the party not being aware of Vijayan’s cabinet decision on pensioners is not a sign of the emergence of two factions within the party. This development is not a sign of any serious rift between the two, they felt.

M N Pierson, a political commentator, Left loyalist and a strong critic of CPI(M), told The Federal, “Making the people feel that the party does exist with strong ideals is the duty of the party secretary. For quite a while, there was only a government, but there was no party as far as the people were concerned.”

Further, he added that the government was controlled by bureaucrats rather than the party.

“Pinarayi Vijayan being the CM could not /cannot act as the party chief. Someone else has to do that job, unfortunately, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan was not able to do it,” pointed out Pierson, adding that Govindan Master should be able to bring back the dominance and prominence of the party over the government.

“If it does not happen, the party as an entity will become weaker and the cadres will not be able to sustain their political association with society. Hence, what M V Govindan did (correcting the government) is part of an inevitable process,” concluded Pierson.