THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan’s latest outburst on attempts to ‘purge’ honest leaders from newly- elected party committees has come as a clear message not only to his faction leaders but to his detractors in the party. His posture, which is a provocation to the party commissars at the helm of affairs, is a strategy to rekindle the spirit of his foot soldiers in the wake of defeat at Pathanamthitta. The new posture would definitely go down well with his followers who have been left with no leaders of stature to lead them from the front even in VS strongholds like Pathanamthitta, Kollam, Palakkad and Kasargod.Unlike in the recent past, neither Achuthanandan nor Pinarayi Vijayan has given direct leadership to the factional feuds during the party conferences this time. In fact, the official faction had given the impression that it would be accommodative as far as possible. The Thiruvananthapruam district conference had elected 12 to 15 known VS faction leaders in the 41-member district committee, despite the official faction having a majority. The area conferences in the Kollam district, had a semblance of discipline and order. It was against this backdrop that the open tussle between groups identified with local leaders took place during the Pathanamthitta district conference. In Alappuzha district, the Achuthanandan faction and a group led by former Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac were acting in close cohesion against another group led by D Sudhakaran. But the new-found bonhomie between VS and Issac which had its impact in Alappuzha was found missing in Pathanamthitta. Moreover, it was Thomas Isaac who led the campaign to derail the bandwagon of VS here, according to party watchers. Though Isaac failed to get his handpicked leader K P Udayabhanu elected as new district secretary he was able to upset the applecart of the VS group by defeating K C Rajagopal, the VS strongman and two others. The defeat further eroded the confidence of the group at a time when district conferences are scheduled for next month. Achuthanadan’s outburst at this juncture has come as a major fillip to his men. By opting to speak out in the open, VS has further brought down his chances for a reinstatement in the politburo, and had even risked inviting disciplinary action. It may be noted that his open criticism of the politburo’s stand on the Mullapperiyar issue had invited the displeasure of the politburo and the state secretariat recently. By refusing to toe to the party line on many issues, VS has made it clear that he would continue to go ahead in his own style unmindful of violating party discipline or inviting possible disciplinary action.
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