Rebels with a cause,and a plan,in Kerala

The rebels have already found huge support in their respective areas. The People’s Development Committee,formed by Murali,trounced the CPI(M) in the recent bypolls held to Shornur municipal council in Palakkad.

As the CPI(M) in Kerala is traversing through its worst-ever crisis,issues are abound for the rebels to dangle before the voters. Resentment has been brewing in the party rank and file over its nexus with Abdul Nasser Madhani. In several Muslim-dominated areas,where the CPI(M) had fought against extremist elements in the community,many party workers have quit.

According to Panel leader K S Hariharan,the Lavalin scam and the CPI(M) alliance with the PPD and the Janapaksham,a breakaway faction of the BJP,would be major poll issues .“The CPI(M)’s politics has been hijacked by a section of corrupt leaders. The CPI(M) eagerness to embrace Madhani,even amidst terror charges,has created a sense of anxiety among workers. We expect negative votes from the CPI(M) workers in Ponnani,where the party has nominated a Madhani man,” said Hariharan.

Unlike stray rebel leaders of the past,the new generation Communist rebels have not gone for electoral alliances with the Congress or the BJP. Such an attempt,according to T P Chandrashekahran,would be suicidal for a parallel Communist movement. “We want to prove that we are the true Communists,” said Chandrashekharan,who had led the rebellion in the party village Onchiyam,taking away more than 80 per cent of votes in five village panchayats.

According to sources,campaigning of rebel leader M R Murali in Palakkad constituency has received good response. As Shornur municipality falls within the constituency,the rebel movement in Palakkad may queer the pitches of the CPI(M).

But,the party leadership prefers to play down the rebel threat. “Rebels cannot shake our vote bank. When senior leaders such as M V Raghavan and K R Gouriyamma walked out and floated new parties,they could not make inroad into our voters. This time too,the rebels are beneath our contempt,” said V V Dakshinamoorthi,member of the CPI(M) state secretariat.

However,the early trends from the field show that the party has sensed the danger,at least in Vatakara and Palakkad,where the rebels would be a deciding factor in the poll outcome.

In Vatakara,the surest party seat,the CPI(M) has deployed heavyweights to prevent the flow of activists and apolitical voters to the rebel kitty. State committee members have been engaged in a door-to-door campaign.