p>New Delhi: The CPI(M) is in an existential battle in this edition of Assembly polls as a defeat in Kerala would mean that the Left is no more in power in any part of the country that once boasted of having the second democratically elected communist government in the world in 1957.The CPI(M) and the Left Front are not a force anymore in West Bengal and Tripura after defeats in 2016 and 2018, respectively, while it has been ruling Kerala for the past ten years, bucking a trend where the Left and the Congress-led United Democratic Front formed governments every five years.The face for the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) is Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The 82-year-old had created a record in 2021 when he became the first CM to return to power in Kerala after a full five-year term..Who is 'BJP's B-team'? Day after Congress attacks CPI(M) over helping saffron party, Vijayan lashes out at Rahul.After ten years, Vijayan still lords over the LDF in Kerala, as he did in CPI(M) after he assumed the post of state Secretary in 1998.
Critics accuse Vijayan of transforming the party into a private limited company where dissent has no space.
However, there is trouble within the party, especially in Kannur district, considered a Left bastion, which is also Vijayan’s home turf.
Three senior leaders — a former Minister from south Kerala, and two district leaders from Kannur — have risen in revolt, which was unthinkable a couple of years ago.While the handling of....
