'Congress bug' strikes CPI(M) this time

Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 19: Suspense, melodrama and angry outbursts have, for long, been associated with selection of the Congress candidates in every election here.

But, it now seems the 'Congress bug' has bitten the CPI(M) for this Assembly election.

The denial of party ticket for CPI(M) stalwart V S Achuthanandan has led to an unprecedented situation in the long history of the party in Kerala.

Protest marches, e-mail, SMS and poster campaigns, hitherto unknown in the party, were being launched throughout the state against the manner in which Mr Achuthanandan's have was dropped.

Soon after it was known that the crucial party state committee had denied Mr Achutanandan a ticket, hundreds of party activists gathered at the Contonment House, the official residence of the Leader of the Opposition, to express their solidarity.

The Students Federation of India (SFI) and the Democratic Youth Federation of India(DYFI) activists were out on streets shouting slogans in favour of the leader and marched to the party headquarters.

The move also evoked sharp reactions from intellectuals. Veteran literary critic Sukumar Azhikode saying if Mr Achuthanandan, considered the last of a vanishing breed of true communists, could be denied the ticket, then who could possibly be eligible.

Well-known journalist B R P Bhaskar said this was the first time that an intense power struggle had broken out within the party.

''Things will not be the same any more. Left politics is being redefined,'' he said.

Left intellectual Prof M N Vijayan said the party was being alienated from the people. Feminist and writer Sara Joseph said this was a clear signal that the party had deviated from its policies and the clash between the socialist and the capitalist forces within the party had come to the fore. Meanwhile, staunch party workers and party loyalists were up in arms against the state leadership for taking such a decision and many of them condemned the state committee, especially state party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan. They accuse him of being in the coterie of a mafia.

''The party's decision is not justifiable. Such a decision should not have been taken against VS who had always stood on the side of the poor and the marginalised, '' said Prasanth, a DYFI activist.

Mr Achutanandan enjoyed good support among the youth and the students across the state and this decision was going to have its impact in the coming elections, he added.

A state-level leader said the decision was like a slap on the face of the common man and it only showed that the party was with ''an interest group of the rich''.

Another party loyalist said the party had deviated from its ideology. The party had been hijacked by all kinds of mafia from Coca Cola, Smart City to the forest mafia, who were now deciding its policies.

An SFI activist said no one had fought the battle against corruption like Mr Achutanandan. ''Even at this age, he ventured into hills and forests to battle against corruption. Even the state secretary had not attempted to do it. This is where V S stands above all leaders,'' he added.

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