NEW DELHI: CPM general secretary MA Baby on Monday said it was wrong to single out outgoing Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan for taking moral responsibility for the defeat in the state after 10 years in govt. His remarks came after a meeting of CPM’s polit-bureau, during which the Kerala assembly poll outcome was discussed.“Why should Pinarayi Vijayan be singled out to take moral responsibility for defeat in Kerala. Our party is a collective entity. He is the senior-most member in the polit-bureau and central committee. When we went into polls as a collective we said that he is leading the campaign and if we get a majority we will decide on who will be the CM,” Baby said while addressing reporters.“No single comrade should be held responsible. We, the leadership, will assess the poll results in detail, reach out to people in our organisation at all levels, look at the shortcomings and the role of leadership as a collective. We will self criticise and take corrective measures and put in place the rectification process,” he said.Baby’s remarks gain significance as they come at a time when amid the severe setback in Kerala, the centralised leadership model described as ‘Brand Pinarayi’ and the poll campaign around his governance has been facing criticism. However, CPI(M) has been refuting all criticism holding firmly to the view there is no place within the party for “cult politics” and the campaign was not a one-man show. Dwelling on the overall impact of the assembly polls across four states and a UT, Baby said the “ascendency of the right reactionary forces” in most places, except Tamil Nadu, is something that secular and democratic forces need to take note of with all seriousness.Even in Kerala, Baby noted that the defeat of the LDF was a serious setback to the left and democratic forces. He said that the LDF govt did commendable work for 10 year in the face of “the very vindictive attitude of the central govt which tried to financially strangulate the state govt financially”.“The reasons as to why LDF had to suffer this setback in Kerala is a matter of serious concern. Another disturbing development from Kerala was that BJP was able to win 3 seats and LDF came second in these seats. This was worrying in a state like Kerala which is very famous for its secular and democratic traditions,” he addedHe added that the Party’s central committee will be meeting from May 22-24 to to do an in-depth analysis of the poll results including the setback suffered in Kerala and situation related to elections in West Bengal.Calling the victory of Vijay’s TVK in Tamil Nadu as spectacular, Baby shared that CPM, CPI and other friendly parties were able to take a very timely stand to ensure that horse trading can be averted and the verdict of the people honoured.On why CPM chose to give support from outside and not join the govt in Tamil Nadu, Baby said, “We have 2 MLAs, CPI and VCK also have 2 MLAs each. We won these seats as part of the DMK front. Now this (TVK) is another political formation. The people’s verdict is in favour of TVK. In the given circumstances political morality demands that it is not proper for us to take a decision now to join the govt,” he said. The CPM general secretary also said that the invitation is there for all the three parties to join the TN govt.“As a party we believe that to be part of the govt we need to have substantial numbers to have a substantial say. So, we have very rationally justified our stand. We are inside the democratic process but outside the govt in Tamil Nadu,” he added.To drive home the point that CPM puts its ideology and principles first, Baby recalled that in 1996 when then West Bengal CM Jyoti Basu was offered the Prime Ministership, the central committee of the party decided against taking up Prime Ministership to lead the United Front govt. The CPM had then taken the position that the party felt that participating in a “bourgeoise” coalition govt at the Centre, without having a majority of its own, would prevent them from implementing left leaning policies.While many seniors including then-general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet had supported Basu, a powerful hardline faction within the party, voted against the move. While Basu at that stage accepted the party’s decision silently but he later cited it as a “historical blunder” and a missed opportunity for Indian communists to influence national politics.
