Poll debacle, fury against Pinarayi-Govindan axis rocks Kerala CPI(M)

Thiruvananthapuram, May 19 The Assembly election defeat suffered by the CPI(M) has triggered an unprecedented internal revolt against the leadership of Pinarayi Vijayan and state secretary M.V. Govindan, with district committees, senior leaders and grassroots cadres openly demanding accountability, leadership change and a complete political reset within the party.

From Alappuzha to Kannur, party meetings that once functioned under an atmosphere of unquestioned loyalty to Pinarayi Vijayan have now turned into platforms for fierce criticism.

Leaders and cadres alike have blamed the party’s humiliating collapse on what they describe as arrogance, personality-centric functioning and a leadership style that alienated ordinary people and even party workers.

At the Alappuzha district secretariat meeting attended by senior leaders, including Thomas Isaac and Saji Cherian, sharp questions were reportedly raised over why Pinarayi Vijayan alone continued to enjoy exceptional protection despite the electoral debacle.

The members demanded that he step down as Leader of Opposition, while also criticising the decision to field P.K. Shyamala, wife of M.V. Govindan, in Taliparamba, which she lost badly.

The anger was even more intense in Kannur, where district committee discussions witnessed extraordinary criticism against the top leadership.

Cadres openly accused the leadership of distancing the party from the public through rigid and confrontational politics.

The defeats in Taliparamba and Payyannur, long regarded as CPI(M)'s unquestioned bastions, have shaken the party deeply.

Allegations have now surfaced that the special inquiry commission announced by the leadership is aimed less at identifying real failures and more at diverting anger and isolating dissenters, particularly senior leader P. Jayarajan.

The growing rebellion within the party has also found reflection at the national level.

Politburo member Viju Krishnan openly questioned Pinarayi Vijayan’s continuation as opposition leader during the online Politburo meeting, reportedly arguing that the Kerala defeat was the direct consequence of leadership failures.

His stand has received significant backing from party cadres, many of whom now want a special plenum in Kerala and even discussions on replacing M.V. Govindan.

Adding further pressure on the leadership, Central Committee member P.K. Sreemathy publicly described the defeat as shameful and humiliating, remarks widely interpreted as a direct rebuke to the Pinarayi-Govindan camp.

Along with K.K. Shailaja, Sreemathy is now being viewed by sections within the party as part of a possible corrective force capable of challenging the present leadership structure.

With district committees increasingly turning hostile and pressure building ahead of the upcoming Central Committee meeting, the CPI(M) leadership now faces perhaps its gravest internal crisis in decades, one that threatens to fundamentally reshape the party’s power structure in Kerala.

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