Cracks in Kerala CPI-M, Jayarajan steps in as dissent grows against Vijayan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: For perhaps the first time in nearly three decades, the unquestioned authority of Pinarayi Vijayan within the CPI-M and the Left movement in Kerala is facing open turbulence from within party ranks.

Days after the crushing Assembly poll debacle that reduced the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front to just 35 seats, senior party leader P. Jayarajan broke his silence amid a growing wave of support for him and mounting anger against the present state leadership.

In a carefully worded Facebook post, Jayarajan appealed to CPI-M cadres to stop social media campaigns glorifying him while simultaneously attacking sections of the party leadership.

The intervention assumes significance at a time when both Vijayan and State CPI-M Secretary M.V. Govindan are facing unprecedented criticism from within the party after the Left's worst ever electoral humiliation in Kerala.

In Kannur, long regarded as the ideological fortress of the CPI-M, posters surfaced demanding Jayarajan's return to leadership.

One prominently displayed slogan read, "Call P. Jayarajan, save the party."

There is also growing resentment among cadres against Kannur district secretary K.K. Ragesh, with many openly demanding a complete overhaul of the state and district leadership.