Thiruvananthapuram: Fresh details of the factional battle within the CPM have surfaced in a new book by former IAS officer and V S Achuthanandan loyalist K Suresh Kumar, who alleges that former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan worked to deny the VS government a second term in the 2011 Assembly elections. To achieve this, candidates were fielded in 14 constituencies with the intention of ensuring their defeat.

According to Suresh Kumar, Achuthanandan himself shared this information with him. The allegations appear in his book, 'VS-noppam Ente Dinangal' (My Days with VS), which chronicles his experiences as a member of the special task force appointed by the former chief minister to remove illegal encroachments in Munnar.

The book further claims that Suresh Kumar had no idea that the CPI office in Munnar was marked for demolition, as the then Sub Collector, Rathan U Kelkar, had not informed him of the decision. Kelkar later went on to serve as one of the Principal Secretaries to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Achuthanandan launched the Munnar anti-encroachment drive after noting large-scale fund collection activities by the CPI. Cabinet ministers Binoy Viswam and K P Rajendran had been entrusted with monitoring the encroachments, but they failed to carry out the responsibility effectively. When an earthmover arrived to demolish a concrete slab in front of the hotel Munnar Tourist Home, those accompanying Suresh Kumar did not tell him that the structure indeed housed the CPI office.

The book further alleges that after one phase of the anti-encroachment mission, both the CPM and the CPI moved to corner Achuthanandan. The 25 acres of land held by the family of Lambodaran, brother of M M Mani, was covered by a non-transferable title deed and therefore could not legally be sold.

When Suresh Kumar recommended that the land be repossessed, Mani declared that he would 'chop off' his hands and legs. Within two days, Mani aligned himself with Pinarayi Vijayan's faction, after which both the CPM and the CPI jointly opposed the anti-encroachment mission.

In May 2007, Achuthanandan, as the Chief Minister, launched a high-profile anti-encroachment drive in the ecologically sensitive hill station of Munnar. The operation aimed at reclaiming government land illegally occupied by powerful resort owners and land-grabbers. A specially chosen three-member task force, led by senior IAS officer Suresh Kumar and comprising IPS officer Rishi Raj Singh and Raju Narayana Swamy IAS, used bulldozers to demolish more than 90 illegal structures and high-end resorts, recovering thousands of acres of land.

The drive earned Achuthanandan widespread acclaim as the 'demolition man'. However, the campaign soon slowed due to fierce resistance from opposition parties, local business groups, and even members of his own CPM coalition, particularly when party offices and religious structures were targeted.

Suresh Kumar’s book will be launched on Saturday, with senior Congress leader K Sudhakaran presenting the first copy to former High Court judge Justice B Kemal Pasha.