The Hindu : National : CPI(M) meet may be headed for showdown

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Tuesday, Feb 22, 2005

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National

CPI(M) meet may be headed for showdown

By Our Special Correspondent

MALAPPURAM, FEB. 21. The 18th Kerala conference of the Communist Party of India(Marxist), which ends here tomorrow, appears headed for a showdown between rival factions on election of a new State committee.

The CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and Leader of the Opposition in the State, V.S. Achuthanandan, does not seem to be in a mood for any compromise. He has made it known that there would be a division if his demand for a purge at the top layer of the State unit is not met with.

Mr. Achuthanandan is gunning for T.M. Thomas Isaac and M.A. Baby, party State secretariat members, and P. Sasi, who was political secretary to late E.K. Nayanar, when he was the Chief Minister between 1996 and 2001.

Contest near-certainty

A contest is a near-certainty unless the faction headed by the CPI(M) State secretary, Pinarayi

Vijayan, accedes to Mr. Achuthanandan's demand or the Polit Bureau makes one more intervention to avert such an eventuality. The Polit Bureau member, Prakash Karat, had communicated the party national leadership's opposition to a choreographed division at the beginning of the conference. He also appealed to the delegates not to reopen settled ideological and organisational issues and reminded them that the State conference was not the venue to settle ideological questions.

The CPI(M) general secretary, Harkishan Singh Surjeet, too had appealed to the delegates to uphold the great tradition of the Kerala CPI(M) and ensure that the party remained united under all circumstances. He told also the delegates that there was no issue that could not be resolved through mutual dialogue with the help of the Polit Bureau. The discussion on the State secretary's report to the conference did not suggest acceptance of the appeal from the two national leaders.

Some hope

Significantly, Mr. Achuthanandan and Mr. Vijayan, who have not exactly been on talking terms for quite some time, were engaged in a serious discussion for lasting 30 minutes even as the discussion on the secretary's report was in progress. Whether the two were discussing the nitty-gritty of forming the new State committee is anybody's guess, but the incident certainly created the impression that there has been a thaw in their relations and raised hopes of a rapprochement before things go out of hand.

Discussion ends

The discussion on the State secretary's report, lasting nine hours and 35 minutes, concluded in the afternoon. As many as 59 delegates, more than one-tenth of the total strength of delegates, participated in the discussion representing the district units and various party-related institutions. Delegates were as searing in their criticism of the leadership as on Sunday. The delegation from Kannur was the most cohesive and was even-handed in its appraisal of the Opposition Leader and the party State leadership. But since the factional loyalties remain inscrutable, it is well-nigh impossible to say which side has the majority support among the delegates.

Briefing reporters, the CPI(M) State secretariat member, Kodiyeri

Balakrishnan, said that several delegates had called upon the leadership to devise strategies to make the CPI(M) the party of the majority in Kerala and make it capable of taking on its rivals in the coming panchayat and Assembly polls. There was also a call for change in the campaign style of the party and for emphasis on house-to-house campaigns.

Document

Mr. Balakrishnan said the conference had also resolved to implement the party Central committee document on class and mass organisations. The Central committee, he said, had pointed out that the Kerala unit was yet to implement the document adopted around four months ago. The document, he explained, was intended to clarify the relationship between the party and its class and mass organisations and the freedom that the latter should ideally enjoy.

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