Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee may be the Left’s face of “reform”, but in Kerala, the CPM has made its own peace with capitalism. Resort is edging out revolution as the party of the working class plunges into tourism, directed at the affluent.

The party-controlled Malabar Tourism Development Cooperative Limited (MTDCL) opened a water theme park at Parasinikkadavu in Kannur on Sunday, and is now planning a major resort in this party stronghold. Boasting five-star facilities, the resort will offer ayurveda as a bonus, says MTDCL Chairman K K Narayanan.

Two weeks back, a CPM-backed cooperative society was formed in Kozhikode to cash in on the state’s tourism industry. The new society has lined up a host of projects.

In Palakkad, a stronghold of party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, the CPM has identified a tract of land near Mannarkkadu for a tourism venture. “The project is at an infancy stage. Some businessmen close to the party are working out the details,” sources said.

The opening of the Rs 30-crore water theme park was another landmark in the CPM’s march towards capitalism, and came close on the heels of the fresh round of “ideological” war between Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and Pinarayi. VS has been opposed to the park, and when he claimed that he was “indisposed” and skipped the Sunday inauguration, much was read into it.

The MTDCL was formed in 2001 with CPM leader E P Jayarajan as Chairman. Right from the start, the project was mired in controversies as it was seen as a sign of the party’s “rightist” deviation.

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