Withering away

Karl Marx had warned of the withering away of a proletarian government due to counter-revolutionary forces. But his latter day disciples in India seem to be facing a similar problem evenout of power. The Left Democratic Front (LDF), which lost power in Kerala by a hair’s breadth, appears hard pressed to maintain its ranks. The latest addition to its list of 'reneging' comrades is MC Mathew, a prominent CPI(M) leader who had been with the party for four decades. He is also state committee member K P Mary’s husband and cited a fall in party values as the reason for his unceremonious exit. 

 

This fresh desertion came even before the party could recoup from the loss of MLA R. Selvaraj’s resignation from the party just ahead of the crucial Piravom by-election. Though leader of the opposition V S Achutanandan had said that the defection would not affect the party adversely, it eventually cost LDF the by-election. 

 

Fire brand SFI leader Sindhu Joy also left the party last year to join the Congress. Another senior leader MP Sivaraman who had represented the Ottapalam constituency from 1993 quit the party a couple of years ago alleging that the words and deeds of the party leadership do not match. Former SFI leader AP Abdullakkutty and another ex-MP K.S. Manoj are also prominent in the list of renegades.

 

The large scale exodus from CPM is not a new phenomenon and began as early as1986 when Kannur leader M.V. Raghavan was expelled in the controversial 'badal rekha’ (alternative document) issue. Senior party leaders followed him and formed the Communist Marxist Party (CMP) which later joined the Congress-led UDF. 

 

The last few years have seen a return of the rebellion. Most resigning leaders state dissatisfaction with the high-handedness of the leadership. When Joy left the party, for instance, she alleged that she had not been given due consideration in the party, something she hoped she would receive in the Congress. Another reason is the ideological intolerance that the party displays, as in the case of Raghavan. As the massive erosion of leaders continues, CPM must re-evaluate its ideological stand and hierarchical structure if it is to survive.