Left back at helm: Pinarayi Vijayan to be sworn in as Kerala CM today
Seventy two-year-old Pinarayi Vijayan will be sworn in as chief minister for Kerala on Wednesday, bringing the Left Democratic Front (LDF) back to power after five years.
Seventy two-year-old Pinarayi Vijayan will be sworn in as chief minister for Kerala on Wednesday, bringing the Left Democratic Front (LDF) back to power after five years.
Pinarayi will be sworn in along with his 18-member ministry at the central stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led LDF won the May 16 assembly election, winning 91 of 140 seats in the state assembly. The incumbent Congress-led United Democratic Front was ousted by the electorate in keeping with the state’s anti-incumbency trend.
The CPM will have 12 berths, followed by the Communist Party of India with four, while the Janata Dal (Secular), Nationalist Congress Party and Congress (Socialist) will get one each.
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Though the outgoing Oomen Chandy government had 21 ministers, the LDF has decided to keep its strength to 19 as a part of austerity measures.
Party general secretary Sitaram Yechury and senior leader Prakash Karat will attend the swearing in ceremony.
A pragmatist to the core, the Kannur strongman represents the modern face of Communists. Known for his realistic approach, Pinarayi is often referred to as the ‘Deng of Kerala’, after the late legendary Chinese statesman, Deng Xiaoping.
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Pinarayi’s elevation was a relatively smooth affair given veteran VS Achuthanandan’s claim for the seat. In spite of the well-known acrimony between the two leaders, the 92-year-old graciously stepped aside following gentle persuasion from the party’s central leadership.
The son of a toddy tapper, Pinarayi was once aide to Achuthanandan and considered him his mentor. He was even part of Achuthanandan’s infamous ‘Vettineruthal’ – the ousting of revisionists from the party – in which senior leaders such as MV Raghavan and PV Kunhikannan, the then LDF convenor, were forced out. Soon, with Achuthanandan’s help, the economics graduate became party secretary after quitting his minister’s post in 1998.
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Eventually the two fell out since both nourished parliamentary ambitions.
In the 2005 Malappuram party conclave, Pinarayi humiliated his mentor by defeating all his nominees in the state committee. This led to two powerful factions emerging within the state unit.
Pinarayi slowly but gradually took control of CPM in Kerala by sidelining or forcing out dissenters systematically.
The longest serving state secretary (1998-2015), he now comes back to power after a long gap.