Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan
Credit: PTI file photo
Thiruvananthapuram: Even as the CPI in Kerala is agitated over the CPM, which leads the ruling Left Democratic Front, signing the memorandum of understanding with the centre for the PM SHRI scheme in Kerala schools, CPI is unlikely to take any extreme steps like leaving the front.
The CPI state executive is meeting on Monday to decide the future course of action.
The Congress already extended an open invitation to the CPI, which is the second largest party in the LDF with 16 MLAs, including four ministers.
However, in the present political scenario of Kerala the CPI could be preferring to remain in the LDF only for various reasons.
Any shift to the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) could not be comfortable for the CPI. The CPI that enjoys the second position in the LDF now may not get such a status in the UDF as the Indian Union Muslim League and KC(J) are long time key partners of the Congress.
Moreover, the LDF under the leadership of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan already started a strong campaign for a third consecutive term in the 2026 elections. Remaining in power in Kerala is equally important for CPM and CPI as Kerala is the lone state where the communist parties are now in power.
Political analyst Jacob George points out that the CPI could be obviously preferring to remain close to the CPM only as the CPI had a very bitter experience of winning only three seats in the 1965 elections soon after the CPI-CPM split. The CPM had then won 40 seats.
The CPI leadership will have to come out with any measure to save its face as well as to pacify its youth and student outfits who already launched protests against the decision to sign PM SHRI. Hence it could find ways to register the protest by remaining within the LDF.
The CPM has already started efforts to pacify the CPI by ensuring proper mechanism to prevent any sorts of BJP-RSS influence in the state's school curriculum under the PM SHRI scheme and National Education Policy. Secretary in the ministry of education Sanjay Kumar told a television channel on Sunday that even as the state government agreed to implement PM SHRI, the state can decide the text books to be followed. This could be used by the CPM to pacify the CPI.
Sources said that the CPI was more agitated by the fact that the CPM kept all coalition partners in the dark even after signing the MoU with centre on PM SHRI, that too by overlooking the cabinet decision to have a policy decision of the LDF on the matter. Even many CPM leaders, including ministers, are also learnt to be unhappy over this secrecy.