RIP V S Achuthanandan: The end of an eventful era of 'Kerala's Fidel Castro'

Thiruvananthapuram: Though the Malayalam word 'Velikkakathu' means within the fences, Velikkakathu Sankaran Achuthanandan is often known for breaking all fences in his crusade against injustice.

Anti-corruption crusader, common man's voice, hardcore Communist leader,  master of disciplined lifestyle, a “rockstar” for Malayalis across the globe, thus goes the adjectives for V S Achuthanandan, popularly known as VS. 

He was one of the biggest crowd pullers of all time in Kerala as his speeches were sharp and incisive against corruption and injustice. His unique slang gave an additional punch to his speeches.

The passing away of Achuthanandan marks the end of an era as he was the lone surviving member among the 32 members who walked out of the Communist Party of India's national council meeting in 1964, owing to ideological differences and formed the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

VS faced disciplinary action from the party several times on charges of violating organisational discipline and airing his differences publicly on contentious issues like the SNC Lavalin corruption case against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and CPI(M)'s nod for Asian Development Bank (ADB) ADB loan. 

Achuthanandan’s strident position against corruption and anti-ecological activities was evident from his Munnar operation against illegal constructions and encroachments in the ecologically fragile popular hill station as well as the encroachments at Mathikettan forest land and his uncompromising stand against the highly influential sandal lobbies.

A three-member Task Force comprising IAS-IPS officers assigned by Achuthanandan led the Munnar operations. The sight of bulldozers demolishing hotels, resorts constructed illegally in encroached lands, reflected his unflinching resolve to save the ecologically sensitive hill station. The team even targeted the encroachments of Left parties, inviting the wrath of leaders like Pannyan Raveendran and M M Mani. As a result, the operation had to be halted abruptly.

Drives against other state lotteries and film piracy were the other highlights of VS 'government.

The protracted legal battles fought by VS against corruption also led to the conviction of UDF founder leader and Kerala Congress (B) chairman R Balakrishnapillai in a case. It was one of the rare cases in which a top politician got convicted.

As Achuthanandan went ahead with his vigorous drives against injustice, the party accused him of not taking the leadership into confidence on several serious matters  and policy decisions. The CPI(M) party leadership, headed by Pinarayi, deployed people close to them in key positions in the Chief Minister’s office. Three members of Achuthanandan’s personal staff were even sacked on charges of leaking party decisions to the media.

VS also proved that age was just a number by becoming the Chief Minister at the age of 82 in 2006. His "Amul baby" jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for ridiculing him over his age during the election campaign in 2011 had caught national attention.

Rahul said that if the CPI(M) came back to power in 2011, Kerala would have a 93-year-old Chief Minister. VS shot back stating that the Congress had fielded some 'Amul babies' - that too in his typical dragging slang, "Amoool baby...Amoool baby." 

By trekking the Sabarimala hills at the age of 84, that too without any physical discomforts, VS not only proved his high fitness levels but also became the first Communist Chief Minister to trek the holy hill leading to the Ayyappa temple.

During his decades long political career, Achuthanandan contested in ten elections, of which he lost only three. Though he lost the maiden contest at Ambalappuzha in his home district Alappuzha in 1965, he won with a margin of over 9,500 votes in 1967 and again in 1970. After losing Ambalappuzha again in 1977, he contested from Mararikulam, that too in Alappuzha, in 1991 and won with nearly 10,000 votes. 

Achuthanandan's defeat in Mararikulam in 1996 by a thin margin of 1965, triggered a major political row in Kerala as it was considered to be the outcome of the intense factionalism in the party. VS was then projected as the LDF’s chief ministerial candidate. LDF registered an emphatic victory , winning 80 of the 140 seats in the Assembly. 

From 2001 onwards, he won from Malampuzha seat in Palakkad four times in a row, that too by recording an increase in the victory margin from 4,703 in 2001 to 27,142 in his last electoral fight in 2016.

Even as attempts were made to deny the chief minister post to VS despite winning the 2006 Assembly election under his leadership, the party leadership was forced to fall in line following an unprecedented wave of protests by workers and public at large.

After the LDF won 2016 Assembly elections, VS was sidelined by the party citing health reasons. While announcing Pinarayi as the next Chief Minister, the then party general secretary Sitaram Yechury termed Achuthanandan as "Fidel Castro of Kerala, who will continue to guide and inspire the party."

Subsequently, Achuthanandan was appointed as the Chairman of State Administrative Reforms Commission. He resigned from the post in 2021 due to age-related health issues. 

VS, who used to be CPI(M)'s star campaigner, made his last election speech in October 2019 during Assembly by-poll at Vattiyoorkavu in Thiruvananthapuram. CPI(M)’s V K Prasanth won the seat with a handsome margin.

VS not only became an inspiration for characters in many Malayalam films, but he also played his real-life role in reel life by inaugurating a mass stir against water exploitation in the Malayalam film 'Campus Diary'.