Factionalism gets murkier in Kerala CPM
Factionalism in the Kerala CPM has got murkier with senior party leader V S Achuthanandan demanding an inquiry into the role of manipulators in influencing the party elections.
Factionalism in the Kerala CPM has got murkier with senior party leader V S Achuthanandan demanding an inquiry into the role of manipulators in influencing the party elections.
Elections to three district committees of the CPM have been completed which witnessed delegates taking sides on the basis of group affiliations.
Factions owing allegiance to opposition leader V S Achuthanandan and CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan are battling it out for upper hand in the elections.
Efforts are being made by certain manipulators in the party to ensure defeat people with integrity in party elections, alleged Achuthanandan in Kochi on Friday. He said false propaganda is being unleashed to defeat persons with integrity.
Manipulators are implementing their strategy in pretext that there is a consensus in the party to replace people who had been holding posts for very long, Achuthanandan observed.
He said it was not wrong to elect office bearers through elections as the CPM is a democratic party, but lobbying to defeat certain candidates cannot be approved.
Achuthanandan’s statement comes in the wake of rout of his faction in the elections to all three district committees which have been completed.
The defeat of his loyalists in their stronghold in Pathanamthitta has been a surprise.
Elections were held to the district committee despite an appeal for consensus made by the CPM state leadership. Several veteran leaders owing allegiance to Achuthanandan were defeated in the elections.
One of the ardent supporters of Achuthanandan and former MLA K C Rajagopal’s defeat in the elections was a shock to Achuthanandan loyalists in the district.
According to political observers, the call for consensus made by state leadership of the CPM was half-hearted and it was with the blessing of the state leadership that leaders who support Pinarayi Vijayan contested and won the elections in Pathanamthitta.
Achuthanandan’s public demand for an inquiry into the role of manipulators despite a ban of the CPM central leadership on public expression of grievances is aimed to unite his supporters and boost their morale, said sources.
