A favourite of Kerala in his first term, Vijayan seems to be losing his lustre

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 30 (IANS) Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s winning streak began in 2016 and it peaked when he won the Assembly elections for a second term in 2021, which was a first-of-its-kind feat in Kerala politics. However, all is not well for Vijayan now and 2024 is going to be crucial for him.

In his first term as Chief Minister, Vijayan had won many hearts outside of the CPI(M) cadres and also among apolitical people. This was the main reason for him retaining power in the 2021 polls.

When the world found the going tough on account of the Covid outbreak, Vijayan was appreciated around the country for the way the pandemic was handled in Kerala.

Adept handling of the pandemic by the Vijayan Government and providing monthly food kits to those in need for several months in 2020, all helped him win a second term in office.

However, due to his strong grip on the party and the government, Vijayan became arrogant and alienated many people, even the apolitical ones and the media, too, began taking a strong position against his high-handedness.

Vijayan was not the creation of the media and had risen on the sheer dint of his hard work. After his 15-year-long stint as the Secretary of the CPI(M) in Kerala, Vijayan was able to completely wipe out the VS Achuthanandan faction.

This helped him to be the last word in the party and with the government also firmly under his control, not a leaf moved without Vijayan’s consent.

However, with his arrogance growing each day, there are murmurs against Vijayan both in the media and in the CPI(M).

As a result of this, the bus trip undertaken by Vijayan and his Cabinet colleagues of all the 140 Assembly constituencies in the state drew flak from the media.

The first salvo against Vijayan from within the CPI(M) came a few days back, albeit in a veiled manner, when two-time former state minister and veteran party leader from Alappuzha, G Sudhakaran, criticized the Chief Minister for his arrogance and handling of things.

A media critic on condition of anonymity said, “The one advantage that Sudhakaran has is that he has a very clean image and the support of diehard Communists. Moreover, since he might not have any more parliamentary aspirations, his words carry weight. He can do what Achuthanandan did at the height of his tiff with Vijayan during the early 2000s.”

“Those who are upset with Vijayan, but don’t want to take him on openly, will play the waiting game and watch from the sidelines, on how Sudhakaran goes forward, as any wrong move could prove politically lethal for those who rebel against Vijayan,” he added.

Now, with the 2024 Lok Sabha polls round-the-corner and the Congress-led UDF having 18 seats out of 20 in the state, Vijayan can breathe easy if status quo is maintained. He is a survivor and in 2019, even after a debacle Vijayan clawed back in the local bodies’ polls in 2020 and retained power in the 2021 Assembly elections.

However, right now, all eyes are on the case involving Vijayan’s daughter allegedly receiving payments from a mining company. If the Kerala High Court clears her, Vijayan will be breathing easy, if not, it could be another tough period for him, with the Congress-led Opposition already up against him.

So, it could be touch-and-go for Vijayan and if he is able to ward off all these troubles, then he will further consolidate his position. If not, it could all crumble as he has health issues too.

–IANS

sg/rad