Thiruvananthapuram: A pall of gloom has descended on the Kerala unit of the Communist Party of India-Marxist after a stunning electoral rout that has ended the decade-long rule of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Even as the final tally has not been declared by the Election Commission, the UDF has touched 102 seats, the Left 35 and the BJP 3.
The party’s state headquarters, once a hive of post-poll calculations and cadre mobilisation, wore an unusually deserted look, mirroring the mood of a rank and file struggling to come to terms with the scale of the setback.
Even diehard party workers appeared crestfallen, with many privately acknowledging that the defeat was not merely electoral but structural.
The aura of invincibility that followed the 2021 surge has dissipated rapidly, replaced by introspection and unease.
At the centre of the criticism is Vijayan himself, whose leadership style, long seen as decisive, has now come under scrutiny for fostering what insiders describe as “excessive centralisation and political arrogance.”
For years, Vijayan was the undisputed fulcrum of both the party and the government, with key decisions flowing from a tightly controlled inner circle.
Dissent was rare and often muted.
That model, which once ensured coherence and discipline, is now being blamed for disconnecting the leadership from grassroots realities.
As the dust settles, attention is turning to whether Vijayan will publicly take responsibility for the debacle, something he has yet to do.
Senior leaders, while measured in tone, have begun signalling the need for course correction. M.V. Jayarajan, a prominent figure from Kannur, admitted that the party’s earlier momentum had clearly ebbed.
He stressed the urgency of reconnecting with the electorate and indicated that both the broader political trends and candidate selection would come under review at the state level.
State secretary, M.V. Govindan, struck a similarly cautious note, promising a comprehensive introspection.
He acknowledged that the underperformance was not confined to isolated pockets but was evident across Kerala, necessitating a deeper study and corrective measures.
The defeat has also dealt him a personal blow; his wife, P.K. Shymala, lost the Taliparamba seat, considered a traditional party stronghold, to rebel candidate T.K. Govindan, whose candidacy was backed by the Congress-led opposition.
Veteran leader and General Secretary of the CPI-M, M.A. Baby, pointed to emerging fissures within the party’s organisational discipline.
Referring indirectly to rebels like T.K. Govindan, V. Kunjikrishnan and former minister G. Sudhakaran (all of whom won), he underscored that individual ambitions and public expressions of discontent were departures from established party norms.
Such developments, he suggested, would be closely examined as part of the internal review.
He quoted the example of Bengal veteran Biman Basu, who, despite being a tall leader of the party from West Bengal, never ever contested even for the Rajya Sabha.
As the CPI-M grapples with its worst setback in years, the immediate challenge lies in rebuilding credibility and reconnecting with its base.
The coming weeks will reveal whether this moment of crisis triggers meaningful reform or deepens the fault lines that have now been laid bare.
(IANS)
