In a primary, poll-bound Kerala misses its greatest crowd-puller – VS Achuthanandan

Express News Service
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The 12 months 1957. Kerala was headed in direction of its first elections. A 34-year-old was the district secretary of the undivided Communist Party in Kollam. Alappuzha district was not even shaped. He was in control of campaigning within the area and the Left received 9 out of the 11 seats beneath his command. The title of the younger chief: VS Achuthanandan. 

During the 1958 Devikulam bypoll, political Kerala got here throughout a masterstroke by VS who was then the election secretary to Rosamma Punnoose. Her opponent was B Ok Nair, for whom a slew of senior Congress leaders together with Indira Gandhi had flown down and campaigned. The Congress was fairly certain of a snug win. 

But VS had different plans in thoughts. M G Ramachandran — the one and solely MGR of Indian cinema and Tamil politics — was capturing in Munnar. VS managed to get MGR to marketing campaign for the Left in a constituency which had a considerable variety of Tamil voters. Incidentally, that was the one time MGR campaigned within the state. The relaxation is historical past. Rosamma received by a margin of over 7,000 votes. 

With Kerala set to witness one more election, the state certainly misses its Communist patriarch. Now 97, VS has by no means missed an election marketing campaign in his seven-decade political profession, save for this one. And this time, he isn’t just staying away from campaigning, however it’s also uncertain whether or not he would even solid his vote a primary in his life.

VS was as soon as termed Kerala’s personal Fidel Castro by CPM basic secretary Sitaram Yechury. With VS staying away from campaigning, that political Kerala misses its star campaigner may be very evident. The greatest crowd-puller for the Left in current occasions has remained inactive due to his superior age. 

“The absence of VS from campaigning has definitely created a political vacuum of sorts this assembly election. His absence will be grossly felt. For many years, I have wished only two people on their birthdays — VS and K R Gowri Amma,” Congress veteran A Ok Antony instructed TNIE. He additionally expressed his need to go to the veteran Communist.

VS final addressed a serious marketing campaign rally in October 2019, albeit just for a couple of minutes. The rally was held for CPM’s Vattiyoorkavu candidate V Ok Prasanth at Kuravankonam.  Even at 96, he proved to be the most important crowd-puller within the state’s electoral historical past. In a three-and-a-half minute speech, VS managed to the touch upon nearly all subjects that had then hogged state politics. 

A former chief minister himself, VS served because the chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission for 5 years, stepping down this January. Curtains have nearly come down for his greater than seven-decade-long political profession.  With campaigning now reaching a crescendo, Kerala sorely misses the sharp salvos that VS used to fireplace in any respect electoral opponents of the Left entrance.

Frenzied plenty held on to every phrase, savouring with relish his correct barbs and putting analogies that rung true with the frequent man.  The stage now appears starkly empty with hardly anybody within the state’s political spectrum capable of match VS’ fast repartees and his colloquial method with phrases that by no means did not win the hearts of his adoring viewers.

Country’s oldest dwelling CommunistA founder-leader of the CPM, V S Achuthanandan is the oldest dwelling Communist in India. He was among the many 32 leaders who walked out of the historic CPI nationwide council meet in 1964 to kind the CPM. VS, who started his political profession as a commerce unionist, has been within the forefront of land struggles and was additionally a part of the long-lasting Punnapra-Vayalar battle.