Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee may be undecided about his political career in the post-CPI(M) phase. But what some ex-CPI(M) cadres, who share a similar plight, are doing in Kerala may be of some interest to him.

The Kerala CPI(M), which takes credit for initiating the decentralisation process in the state, is itself undergoing a decentralisation — albeit of a different variety. The rebel comrades are launching their own parallel outfits without compromising on the basic political line of the CPI(M).

The first such attempt was that of the Thalikulam CPM, a party formed by the CPI(M) members in Thalikulam in Thrissur district in 2003 after they rebelled against the party leadership’s decision to dismiss the local committee. Led by former local committee secretary P L Santhosh, the outfit is now leading a mass movement in the area and is also in power in Thalikulam and four other neighbouring panchayats.

Taking a cue from the Thalikulam model, dissident party workers have formed parallel outfits in other places as well , though with different success rates. Earlier, this process was restricted to the southern districts of the state, but now it is also spreading to the Malabar region — the heartland of the Communist movement in Kerala. For instance, there was a vertical split in the party after M R Murali was asked to quit as vice-chairperson of Shornur Municipality in Palakkad district.

The latest is the launch of Marxist Party in Onchiyam in Vadakara district, last Sunday. As is the case everywhere, the parallel unit has been formed by leaders expelled by the CPI(M) for “anti-party” activities.

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