LDF convenor E.P. Jayarajan skips CPI(M) State committee meet sparking speculation about change in Kerala ruling front’s apex level

LDF convenor E.P. Jayarajan skips CPI(M) meeting, sparking speculation about leadership change in Kerala's ruling front.

Left Democratic Front (LDF) convenor E.P. Jayarajan on Saturday (August 31, 2024) skipped the crucial State Committee meeting of the Communist Parrty of India (Marxist) in Thiruvananthapuram, triggering speculation that there might be a change at the apex level of the ruling front. 

Mr. Jayarajan had attended the CPI(M) secretariat meeting on Friday. It was unclear whether the meeting decided on Mr. Jayarajan’s continuation in the top post. CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan is set to hold a press conference at 3.30 p.m. on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the political grapevine was abuzz with conjectures about who would replace Mr. Jayarajan. The media, quoting unnamed sources, bandied about the names of at least two senior CPI(M) leaders.

Mr. Jayarajan had come under severe criticism from within the CPI(M) for confirming, in a somewhat ill-timed and arguably tactless manner on 2024 Lok Sabha election polling day, that he had a tete-a-tete with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Prakash Javadekar at his son’s house in 2023. 

The statement appeared to dovetail with the Congress’ campaign narrative that the BJP and the CPI(M) were in cahoots in Kerala and that the unholy nexus would advantage the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), at least in the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency.

 The CPI(M) felt the statement was politically damaging. The admission suddenly threatened to draw an ideological and ethical equivalency between the party’s top brass and Congress leaders, including Padmaja Venugopal, who shifted allegiance to the BJP in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections in Kerala. 

On Friday, when asked whether Mr. Jayarajan was the subject of an internal party enquiry, Mr. Govindan replied cryptically: “There is no need for any enquiry. Everything is self-evident. The CPI(M) felt that party leaders could ill-afford to lose caution.”