Thiruvananthapuram: A telling image from Kerala’s Kannur railway station has come to symbolise the dramatic political fall of former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the deep crisis engulfing his Communist Party of India-Marxist after its crushing Assembly election debacle.
The photograph, now viral across social media, shows the once all-powerful former Chief Minister quietly waiting for a train alongside CPI-M leader K. K. Ragesh at Kannur station with only a handful of security personnel around him.
For many Malayalis, the image stood in sharp contrast to the imposing figure who, until weeks ago, moved across Kerala in convoys of more than 20 vehicles amid unprecedented security layers that frequently drew public criticism.
The symbolism has not been lost on either political observers or even sections within the CPI-M, where intense criticism against Vijayan and state Secretary M. V. Govindan has erupted during district committee meetings now underway across Kerala.
Party insiders say resentment has been mounting over what many leaders privately describe as Vijayan’s arrogance, his increasingly authoritarian functioning style, and the dismissive language often used against political adversaries and critics.
The most shocking remark came from the Kozhikode CPI-M district committee party meeting when it termed that appointing Vijayan as the Leader of Opposition has turned out to be a historic blunder.
The electoral rout has come as a devastating shock to the CPI-M, particularly because Vijayan had entered the polls openly aiming for a historic third consecutive term in office.
Instead, the Left Democratic Front suffered one of its worst defeats, while the Congress-led UDF stormed back to power.
The setback carries national significance, too. For the first time in 59 years, there is now no CPI-M-led government anywhere in the country, a staggering moment for a party that once shaped national political discourse.
Against this backdrop, the CPI-M Central Committee is scheduled to meet on Friday and Saturday to assess the scale of the defeat and chart a political recovery plan.
Yet it is the railway station image that continues to dominate public conversation, a powerful reminder of how swiftly democratic verdicts can dismantle political invincibility and bring even the most formidable leaders back into the anonymity of ordinary life.
(IANS)
