Kerala’s LDF alliance is showing deepening cracks as the CPI and CPM clash over the PM SHRI scheme signed with the Central government. Political observers had hoped for a breakthrough on 27 October, but even a face-to-face presence of Pinarayi Vijayan and Benoy Vishwam in Alappuzha failed to bridge the divide.
Benoy Vishwam attended the CPI’s State Secretariat and State Executive meetings in Alappuzha on 27 October. Simultaneously, the CPM State Secretariat met in Thiruvananthapuram, which was also attended by CPM Politburo member M.A. Baby. The CPM decided not to yield to pressure and resolved not to withdraw from the PM SHRI scheme.
Later, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called Benoy Vishwam and conveyed his willingness to meet him in Alappuzha that afternoon.
The CPI meetings, however, resolved to stand firm on their opposition to PM SHRI, refusing to soften their stance. When the two leaders met for around forty-five minutes, Benoy Vishwam reiterated the CPI’s demand to withdraw from the agreement. The Chief Minister, however, maintained that all matters could be discussed, except withdrawal.
CPI raised concerns over the impropriety of signing the PM SHRI agreement without prior discussion in the LDF forum, asserting that any change in the party’s position can only be decided by the State Council, which is scheduled to meet on November 4. CPI ministers K. Rajan, P. Prasad, and G.R. Anil also met the Chief Minister later that day.
Observers note that the CPI may be attempting a repeat of its 2017 political strategy against LDF minister Thomas Chandy of the NCP, which eventually led to his resignation over allegations of encroaching backwaters to expand access to his resort in Alappuzha.
Following their failed reconciliation meeting, both Pinarayi Vijayan and Benoy Vishwam appeared together at the Punnapra-Vayalar agitation anniversary event of 1946. Using the occasion to take veiled digs at each other, the Chief Minister asserted that the government is committed to implementing developmental schemes and “will not side with those who attempt to sabotage them.”
In response, Benoy Vishwam remarked that the “communist movement cannot progress if it forgets the people.” He made the comment after receiving the first copy of the Punnapra-Vayalar Directory from the Chief Minister, a compilation listing participants of the 1946 agitation, including those martyred in police firing.
Vishwam also used the platform to criticise the RSS, stating that the state would not cooperate with its “Catch them young” policy, a veiled attack on the CPM’s perceived alignment with such central schemes.
Meanwhile, K. Sudhakaran, former Pradesh Congress Committee president, has invited the CPI to join the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). Political observers and the public are now keenly watching how this escalating CPI–CPM confrontation will unfold.
The CPI’s hardline stance, asserted even before meeting the Chief Minister, has come as a rude shock to the CPM, signalling clearly that the CPI will not back down from the PM SHRI issue.
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