Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 16 (IANS) Pinarayi Vijayan may have emerged unscathed from the CPI-M's three-day extended State Committee meeting in Kozhikode, but the organisational changes that followed suggest that the former Chief Minister's once unquestioned dominance over the party's Kerala unit is no longer quite what it was.
The central leadership stopped short of any disciplinary action against Vijayan, while state Secretary M.V. Govindan was censured following a thorough review of the party’s electoral setbacks and organisational shortcomings.
But the more significant message may lie in whom the party chose to bring back into its power structure.
P. Jayarajan, the powerful Kannur leader who had remained outside the State Secretariat for years, has been inducted into the body along with M.B. Rajesh and V. Sivankutty.
N. Sukanya, whose candidature from Taliparamba had reportedly been sought by sections of the party before P.K. Shyamala was fielded, has been inducted into the State Committee.
The significance of Jayarajan’s return goes beyond a routine organisational reshuffle.
His re-entry, after years on the sidelines, indicates that the Politburo team from Delhi was prepared to restore space for leaders with a political base rather than simply endorse the existing power structure.
The Kannur setbacks in Taliparamba and Payyannur, where rebel candidates emerged after the denial of tickets to popular local leaders, had already exposed the limits of the leadership’s management of the district.
John Brittas, often seen as close to Vijayan, has not received the larger elevation some had expected; instead, he has been given a role alongside the State Secretariat as a Central Committee invitee.
The real test, however, could come next.
The party has decided to hold extended meetings in all 14 districts.
Reports already suggest possible changes in district-level leadership, including in Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram.
V. Joy, who was retained as Thiruvananthapuram district Secretary earlier this year with the backing of the state leadership, and Kannur secretary K.K. Ragesh are among those facing speculation over organisational changes.
Thus, Kozhikode was not a revolt against Vijayan.
Nor was it a complete victory for him.
It was a carefully calibrated intervention, which saw Vijayan survive, but the political and organisational space around him is being rearranged.
The district-level exercise will show whether this was merely corrective surgery or the beginning of a deeper change in the Kerala CPI-M.
--IANS
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