In a long-drawn fight, new weapons always come in handy. The rivalry in the Kerala unit of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) between former Chief Minster V.S. Achuthanandan and the State secretary, Pinarayi Vijayan, is legendary. Although the murder of T.P. Chandrasekharan, leader of the Revolutionary Marxist Party, a breakaway group of CPI (M), in Onchiyam in Kozhikode earlier this month appears to have accentuated divisions in the party, this is but another phase in the seemingly never-ending Achuthanandan-Vijayan factional feud. As leaders of the ruling United Democratic Front pointed fingers at the CPI (M) for the murder, Mr. Vijayan and Mr. Achuthanandan used the killing as an opportunity to begin a fresh battle within the party. While Mr. Vijayan described Chandrasekharan as a traitor, Mr. Achuthanandan paid homage to the slain RMP leader. But in defending Chandrasekharan by stating there was nothing wrong in floating a new party, Mr. Achuthanandan was actually attacking Mr. Vijayan. The situation in Onchiyam was similar to the one prevailing in 1964, Mr. Achuthanandan said, alluding to the split in the Communist Party of India that gave birth to the CPI (M). And, taking the analogy further, he compared Mr. Vijayan to S.A. Dange, then chairman of the CPI, seen as a villain during the split, who was later expelled by the party. But those who think Mr. Achuthanandan was raising visions of a split in the party are mistaken. For the veteran Marxist leader, this was merely another shot at his rival, and not some strategic manoeuvre intended to split the party. Political murders are non-events in Kerala, and, in any case, the course of the CPI (M) will not turn on whether Chandrasekharan is seen as a traitor or martyr.
More than the murder, what is worrying Mr. Achuthanandan is that Mr. Vijayan does not seem intent on toppling the UDF government, which is surviving on a wafer-thin majority. If the 88-year-old Mr. Achuthanandan is to be CM again, his only chance is in the current term of the Assembly. The party lost a recent by-election in Piravom, and to lose another in Neyyattinkara next month would practically end any hope of the LDF finding a way back to power in the current Assembly. In his own interest, Mr. Achuthanandan will not rock the boat at this stage. To force a split would be to sabotage his chances of leading the next government. Mr. Vijayan, too, pulled back and refused to get into an extended war of words. The swords are thus back in their scabbards for now. But as long as this rivalry, which is both ideological and personal, endures, the CPI (M) cannot breathe easy in Kerala.
