Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 19 With the Kerala Assembly elections fast approaching, the CPI(M)’s social media machinery tasked with spearheading the party’s digital campaign has been hit by a major internal rupture, exposing unease within the ranks over strategy and leadership.
Senior journalists K.V. Sudhakaran, K. Mohandas, and E.S. Subhash, all former journalists of Deshabhimani, the party organ, have resigned from the CPI(M)’s social media team. Their exit is understood to be in protest against what they describe as unilateral decisions by M.V. Nikesh Kumar, who heads the cyber division at the AKG Centre, the state party headquarters.
Sources indicate that dissatisfaction has been simmering for some time over the prominence accorded to Nikesh within the party and his style of functioning. The development comes at a politically sensitive juncture, amid reports that Nikesh could be fielded from a safe constituency in Kannur.
In recent days, he has also faced targeted cyber attacks, with propaganda suggesting that the son of M.V. Raghavan would “defeat” the ruling CPI(M). The internal fissures have now compounded the unease.
CPI(M) State Secretary M.V. Govindan had personally facilitated Nikesh’s appointment to head the social media wing, a move that initially signalled a strategic revamp of the party’s digital outreach.
A team of over 30 members -- including content writers and editors -- was assembled to produce television-style discussions and targeted digital messaging aimed at countering political opponents.
However, criticism has mounted within party circles that the cyber wing has failed to deliver the desired political traction. Publicity efforts during recent regional marches are widely perceived to have fallen short, and several digital campaigns are said to have misfired, at times triggering adverse public sentiment.
Even staunch party sympathisers have publicly flagged shortcomings in the online strategy, arguing that the cyber unit has not effectively communicated the government’s development and welfare initiatives.
The resignations have placed the leadership on the defensive, underscoring the challenges the CPI(M) faces in sharpening its digital edge as the electoral contest intensifies.
Nikesh is the son of veteran former CPI(M) leader Raghavan, who, after differences of opinion with the party, was expelled. He then formed his own party and became an ally of the Congress-led UDF, also serving as a minister.
Following his father's death, Nikesh, at the peak of his journalistic career, was given a seat by the CPI(M) at the 2016 assembly polls but lost. He subsequently returned to journalism before re-entering full-time politics last year, when he was appointed to head the party’s digital team.
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