Thiruvananthapuram: The CPI State Council, which reviewed the local body election debacle, mounted an unusually sharp attack on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, demanding a course correction in his style of functioning or his replacement before the Assembly polls.

The meeting went so far as to raise a blunt demand that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan correct his authoritarian style of functioning, either on his own or through his party. Failing that, it would be better for Pinarayi to step aside in the forthcoming Assembly elections.

The meeting also witnessed the speakers launching a scathing attack on Pinarayi Vijayan’s style of functioning. They alleged that the Pinarayi–Vellappally Natesan alliance had effectively alienated minority communities from the Left Democratic Front. The belief that the majority vote would automatically fall in line appeared to have guided their approach, but that calculation failed. Instead, minorities were pushed into the rival camp.

The council maintained that this outcome stemmed from the excessive centralisation of decision-making in Pinarayi’s hands. The CPM, participants said, lacked the courage to question this style and, if it could not do so, the CPI should step in and speak out.

Responding to these demands, CPI State Secretary Binoy Viswam, however, raised a counter question on how such a course could practically be implemented. “Many of the criticisms raised here are valid. But if there are shortcomings on the part of the Chief Minister, it is his party that must correct them. How can the CPI intervene in this?” he asked.

The criticism at the State Council came close on the heels of similar concerns raised at a meeting of the CPI State Executive Committee. The meeting also decided to press ahead with preparations for the Assembly elections and finalised the members in charge of the 25 seats the CPI plans to contest.

Vote swings trigger doubts over tacit BJP–CPM deal
The State Council meeting also flagged the return of votes that had earlier gone to Suresh Gopi in Thrissur, now swinging back to the LDF and questioned what should be read into this shift. Members voiced suspicions of a tacit BJP–CPM understanding. A similar and more serious question was raised over whether such an understanding lay behind the BJP’s unprecedented gains in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation too. The council warned that any drift away from core Left values and political positions posed a greater danger than electoral defeat itself.

Kadakampally avoids reference to SIT questioning at State Committee
Kadakampally Surendran, who was recently questioned by a special investigation team, did not refer to the matter at the CPM State Committee meeting held in the following days. He attended the two-day meeting on Sunday and Monday, during which criticism was raised that the ‘Sabarimala’ issue had caused significant electoral damage. However, Kadakampally is learnt to have shared no details of the questioning with other leaders or with the party leadership.