From VS to Pinarayi: CPM dusts off ‘campaign leader’ formula

When CPM General Secretary MA Baby refers to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as the ‘campaign leader’ for the upcoming Assembly elections, it revives an old political playbook within the party. The same designation was given to VS Achuthanandan in 2006, during a period of intense internal turmoil.

At the time, the party had initially decided to deny the veteran Communist leader and former Chief Minister a ticket. However, when protests against the move spilled onto the streets, the leadership was forced to reverse its decision and allow him to contest. Party leaders explained that projecting VS as the ‘campaign leader’ was meant to counter the perception that he was being sidelined.

Against the backdrop of the Lavalin case, the party also decided in 2006 that Pinarayi Vijayan, then the state committee secretary, would refrain from contesting the elections. The reasoning offered was that, except under extraordinary circumstances, a party secretary does not usually enter the electoral fray.

In May 2007, both VS and Pinarayi were suspended from the Polit Bureau on charges of indiscipline. A few months later, both were reinstated. In 2009, however, VS was expelled from the Polit Bureau and was never reinstated. He went on to serve as Chief Minister for two more years despite not being a member of the Central Committee.

Ahead of the 2011 elections, the state leadership once again decided to deny VS a ticket. This was later overturned following intervention by the Polit Bureau, which also designated him as the chief campaigner. Commenting on the move, then General Secretary Prakash Karat said the national leadership had stepped in to prevent a repeat of the drama witnessed in 2006.

Around the same period, VS faced allegations of fostering a ‘personality cult’. It was in this context that Pinarayi remarked that there was no need to accord VS any special or exalted status.

In 2016, the party eventually decided that both VS and Pinarayi would contest the elections. This decision was influenced by VS’s firm stand that he would retire from the party altogether if age was cited as a reason to sideline him, and that he would not campaign if denied a ticket. Sitaram Yechury, who stood firmly by VS at the time, said: “Let the people decide first, and only then should the question of who would be Chief Minister be taken up.”

Nevertheless, there was clarity from the outset that Pinarayi would assume the Chief Minister’s post if the party returned to power. A parallel understanding was that VS would be given a Cabinet-rank position. In line with this, a State-level Administrative Reforms Commission was soon constituted with VS as its chairman.

While the party has often maintained that there is no need to project a Chief Ministerial candidate, the central leadership has also held that the decision ultimately rests with the state leadership. In light of the current political equations, party sources indicate that Pinarayi will decide whether to contest the election or remain only as the campaign leader.