Kochi, 21 December(HS) : Prime Mister Narendra Modi, while inaugurating India’s first Deep Water Trans-Shipment Container International Port at Vizhinjam near Thiruvananthapuram in May 2025 described Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan as the main pillar of the INDI alliance group led by the Congress. By year end, the main pillar has become so weak that it looks like the deterioration and crumbling may happen any time.

The once strongman and chief commissar of Kerala, Vijayan’s health has gone down. The results of the elections to Local Self Government Institutions has made the chief minister vulnerable to attack not only from the Congress-led opposition but even second rung leaders of his own party, the CPI(M).

V D Satheeshan, the leader of the Opposition has gone gaga over the discomfort of the chief minister. Satheeshan does not lose even a single chance to embarrass Vijayan over the results of the LSGI election results and claims it is simply a matter of time before he takes over the chief minister’s chair.

Corruption and favoritism have put the chief minister in a tight spot and it may require all his political acumen to tide over the present turmoil, says A Jayashankar, author and the State’s leading political critic. Above all, the trio of M A Baby (general secretary of the CPI(M)), Thomas Issac, former finance minister and John Brittas MP, the Christian fanatic in the party have joined hands together to ease out Vijayan from all positions in the party. The chances of Vijayan getting a seat in the upcoming assembly election look bleak as there are many disgruntled elements in the party.

Jayashankar does not rule out the possibility of the CPI(M) voted back to power for a third time. “The CPI(M) leadership should weed out Pinarayi Vijayan and some of his cabinet colleagues like Saji Cherian, V Sivankutty, M B Rajesh, Prof Bindu and Veena George who have proved without any doubt that they are incapable to be ministers. The party should go for young leaders who have got good reputation,” said Jayashankar.

Party insiders agree with Jayashankar as the stance of the persons mentioned above have done a lot of damage to the party. The names of youngsters like P M Arsho, Chinta Jerome, A A Rahim MP, are in reckoning as the future of the CPI(M) as these leaders are quite familiar to Malayalees across the world.

The CPI’s Kerala Secretarty Binoy Viswam is adamant that Vijayan should be despatched to Pinarayi lock, stock and barrel. The hatred Viswam has for Vijayan is famous and the last named is the only person who is not aware of this, said another leader of the CPI(M). Viswam’s ultimate idea is to cause a split in the CPI(M). He has the support of Baby who is believed to have played a major role in coining the term “Karana Bhoothan” the Malayalam word for the one who is responsible for the creation and sustenance of the world.

The party’s hardcore activists who were missing during the LSGI elections are likely to be deployed in large numbers to retrieve the sagging popularity of the CPI(M) in coming days. But the truth remains that Vijayan is walking towards sunset, sans friends and comrades who once stood by him in thick and thin.

Hindusthan Samachar / Manohar Yadavatti