Seeking the people’s mandate after 10 years in power as part of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) does not worry the Communist Party of India (CPI), says its State secretary Binoy Viswam.
“The Left is confident that the government has made an envisioned beginning in plugging the gaps in the infrastructure and industrial sectors while retaining welfarism and other achievements of what has over time been called the Kerala Model. Therefore, if the voters choose to evaluate the government’s performance and vote accordingly, they are not going to reject us,” Mr Viswam insists, ruling out any anti-incumbency.
He feels sorry for the Congress on multiple counts. “What’s stopping it from dropping Shashi Tharoor from the Congress Working Committee (CWC), as he [Mr. Tharoor] has his mind and soul in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while being physically present in the Congress? It shows that the Congress has lost its sense of direction. The legacy of the old right-wing stream in the party seems to have subsumed the Gandhi-Nehru legacy,” Mr Viswam says.
In Kerala, a spirit of anti-Leftism is driving the Congress, over which a mafia-like gang appears to have established a stranglehold. It is dangerous for the Congress and for the State’s political culture. A gang, believed to have been nurtured by Rahul Mamkootathil and his mentors, had the courage to publicly shout down a senior leader like Ramesh Chennithala in Palakkad on Wednesday. The question is: who provides them with the funds and nourishment? Mr. Viswam asks.
The CPI, he adds, has reiterated its demand for Mr. Mamkootathil’s resignation as MLA in the wake of the rape case against him.
Mr. Viswam argues that the SIT probe into the misappropriation of gold from the Sabarimala temple has further cemented the credibility of the LDF government, as it demonstrates the government’s resolve to fight corruption and bring the guilty to book.
“The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] has not tried even a little bit to protect anyone,” he said when asked about CPI(M) leaders, who were former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) presidents, being arraigned as accused in the case.
The CPI stands united; it has played a part in increasing the Leftist content of the ruling coalition. Mr Viswam is not interested in a postmortem of the PM SHRI signing controversy but says the alliance partners worked together to resolve the crisis collectively.
The Left, he maintains, is acutely aware of the unprecedented threat posed by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh–Bharatiya Janata Party combine, which strives for a Hindu Rashtra. “Our objection to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls stems from the realisation that it is intended to disenfranchise anyone who is not a votary of their religious nationalism. [RSS idealogue] Golwalkar’s Bunch of Thoughts is the fountainhead of the idea that those who are not loyal to their religion can still stick around without voting rights,” he says.
Mr. Viswam urges Christian clergy who have tried to warm up to the BJP to look north. “They are expecting something good from Nazareth,” he shakes his head, disapprovingly.
Published – December 04, 2025 09:30 am IST
