# Ajayan | It’s not the State withering away, but rather the party itself disintegrating in its own ideological stronghold in Kerala, the so-called last bastion of Leftist might. CPI(M) meetings at the grassroots level are starting to resemble open-house events, with members walking out as if they had stumbled into the wrong venue.
As the CPI(M) gears up for its grand congress, busily orchestrating local and area meetings as preludes to district and State-level conferences, a curious phenomenon has begun to emerge. The sound of dissent in the party’s tightly controlled ecosystem is making a surprising comeback. And amusingly enough, this is no isolated hiccup (to borrow the party leadership’s favourite jargon). It is a symphony of unrest and dissent reverberating across the State, giving hints that the party’s monolithic structure has started developing so many cracks all at once. The CPI(M) once masterfully suppressed dissent, presenting a façade of unity even during the protracted feud between stalwarts VS Achuthanandan and Pinarayi Vijayan - a conflict that had political and ideological substance. Now, even that veneer has disappeared. With VS sidelined and ailing, ideology has quietly exited stage Left. Today, those abandoning the so-called cadre party do so with astonishing ease, showing no hesitation in aligning with political outfits they vehemently opposed for decades. It is less about convictions now and more about convenience.
A classic is the recent dramatic walkout in the State capital by an area conference secretary, who, without a hint of irony, admitted to entertaining offers from both the Congress and the BJP. Barely a day later, he aligned himself with the BJP – supposedly the very nemesis the CPI(M) has battled for decades. And his justification is baffling - a noble declaration of being a public worker for over four decades, steadfast in his service to the people. Conveniently overlooked, however, was the inconvenient truth: it was ideology, not mere public work, that should have once anchored him to the party. It was just a few days before another local leader became a turncoat in Alappuzha.
Ironically, the CPI(M) leadership begrudgingly admits that the saffron-tinged leanings of these turncoats had been visible for quite some time. If that’s the case, the cadre has every right to wonder: why did the party choose to sit idly by, instead of taking timely corrective measures? Or was the leadership too busy rolling out their "faded red" carpets to notice?
Dissent is against the leadership shielding goons, thugs, morally shady and anti-social elements and even the sand and quarrying mafia, reportedly enjoying the tacit blessings of the higher echelons of power. In some instances, these very elements are even rewarded with significant positions within the party hierarchy, much to the dismay of loyalists.
What the party stubbornly denies, despite glaring evidence, is the undeniable ideological decay that has taken firm root, failing to explain how these opportunistic elements were allowed to thrive comfortably under its protective umbrage. A significant portion of the party cadre, albeit quietly, admits that since Pinarayi Vijayan took the reins of the party in Kerala and continues to hold power as Chief Minister, such elements have seamlessly infiltrated the ranks. This, despite the best efforts of VS Achuthanandan, who struggled then in vain to stem the tide of decline. They point to how effortlessly principles evaporate when greener pastures beckon.
For these careerist cadres, party work has morphed into a mere profession, making shifting loyalties a trivial exercise. After all, when the parent organization itself has drifted onto the neo-liberal, anything-goes path. This neo-liberal streak shines brilliantly in the case of the Smart City project - a masterclass in "over-smartness" designed to cater to the whims of Tecom, a corporate giant that shamelessly abandoned the State and its people. And if there’s a widespread suspicion that the land mafia is pulling the strings behind the Government's decisions, it doesn’t take a genius to connect the dots.
It is no surprise that its foot soldiers follow suit, indistinguishable from the ranks of any other political outfit in the country. If cadres are walking out to join rival outfits, they’re merely following lessons taught by their own leadership. After all, who could forget the red carpet - now suspiciously faded to saffron from overuse - rolled out for a Congress dissident, promptly anointed as the star candidate for the Palakkad by-election? And when the Congress won the poaching game for a BJP dissident in the same district, this "crystal clear" figure overnight became a venom-spitting mythical serpent in the CPI(M)'s narrative, a classic case of selective sanctimony.
If poaching like a cunning fox has always been the privilege of most other political parties, the CPI(M) seems to have finally mastered the art despite all its ferocious rhetoric and chest-thumping to prove otherwise. With sleaze, corruption and blatant opportunism blooming right in its own backyard, the leadership should know it is time to weed its own garden instead of scavenging for scraps and eagerly importing someone else’s trash to fertilize the mess.
Veterans recall a time when earning party membership required relentless effort, with aspirants having to toil their way up from the grassroots branch committee, the very foundation of the party’s structure. Today, the new narrative emerges clearer - a senior leader, not so long ago expelled on charges of immorality and molestation, has effortlessly reclaimed not just his membership but a coveted spot in the top State-level decision-making committee - without even touching the lower rungs. What better example for decay can there be when this same individual now serves as a key advisor to the government and the Chief Minister, they lament.
The CPI(M) often plays the wounded victim, asking, "Why target only us?" The answer is painfully obvious: once upon a time, there was a naive belief that this party stood for principles and ideology; qualities that other political outfits conveniently lacked. But in its relentless march to power, the "good" was unceremoniously left behind, and what remains is an unapologetic display of the "bad and the ugly", thinly veiled behind the leadership's never-ending torrent of hollow justifications.