New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram, May 11
For nearly three decades, Pinarayi Vijayan stood as the undisputed centre of power in Kerala politics, a leader who survived rebellions, crushed dissent, outlasted rivals and eventually became the unquestioned face of the CPI(M).
But, after the Left’s devastating electoral collapse, the man who once appeared politically invincible now finds himself at perhaps the most uncertain crossroads of his long public life.
As the CPI(M) Politburo continues crucial deliberations in Delhi over who should lead the Opposition in Kerala, the debate has increasingly turned into something larger than a mere leadership question.
It is now, in many ways, a reckoning over the political legacy of Pinarayi Vijayan himself.
From the moment he entered the E.K. Nayanar Cabinet as Electricity Minister in 1996, Pinarayi’s rise within the party was swift and relentless.
By 1998, he had taken over as Kerala CPI(M) state secretary, tightening his grip over the organisation with remarkable authority.
For nearly two decades thereafter, few major decisions in the party were taken without his approval.
Even internal critics often found themselves sidelined.
Then came 2016. Pinarayi became Chief Minister and soon transformed himself from a powerful organisational strategist into the single-most dominant political figure in Kerala.
Over the next ten years, extending into his historic second term, he became the final word in both government and party affairs.
Ministers, bureaucrats and even senior party leaders functioned within a tightly centralised system where Pinarayi’s authority remained absolute.
However, the stunning defeat suffered by the Left this election has shaken that aura of invincibility.
Inside the Politburo, difficult questions are now being raised.
Should the very leader under whose watch the Left suffered one of its worst setbacks continue as the face of the Opposition?
Or is this the moment to finally open the door for a new generation?
The dilemma has sharply divided the party.
A strong section within the Kerala unit still believes that no one in the Assembly can match Pinarayi’s experience, aggression and command over legislative politics.
But others fear that retaining him at the forefront would only reinforce public anger against what many critics described as excessive centralisation of power and an increasingly inaccessible style of governance.
Adding to the uncertainty is Pinarayi’s own silence.
Sources indicate that the veteran leader has neither sought the Opposition Leader’s post nor rejected it outright.
Instead, he has conveyed that he would accept any responsibility only if the entire leadership insists.
The carefully calibrated position allows him to avoid appearing power hungry while also ensuring that the party alone bears the responsibility for any final decision.
At 81 later this month, and with concerns over his health also becoming part of quiet political conversations, Pinarayi Vijayan’s future suddenly no longer appears as certain as it once did.
For a leader who dominated Kerala politics uninterrupted for nearly 30 years, the coming days and the crucial meetings of both the central and state leadership could determine not just who leads the Opposition, but how the Pinarayi era itself will ultimately be remembered.
