Kannur: The suicide of NRK entrepreneur Sajan Parayil allegedly driven by the Anthoor municipal authorities has pitted Kannur strongman P. Jayarajan against the rest of CPM leaders.
Though his supporters at the top are less in numbers, he has followers in many folds at the grassroots for whom he's an icon securing the party's stronghold against political rivals of all hues.
As a leader puts it, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan supporting municipal chief P.K. Syamala, wife of central committee member M.V. Govindan, is a clear message to rank and file where the party stands.By denying the occupancy certificate to Mr Parayil's community hall as he raised it through Mr Jayarajan, the CPM was trying to torpedo his 'omnipotent saviour' image.
Though it has been sidelining him, for a large section of party men in Kannur, he's their leader. That's why Mr Vijayan equated him to an "idol" like his bete noire, V.S. Achuthanandan. Earlier too CPM state leadership had criticised "the red star of Kannur" for allowing his fans to extol him.
Its failure to rein in the overzealous supporters projecting him as the saviour of the poor in the cyberspace by highlighting the "weak party culture" of other leaders has become a point of conflict between the two.
Tales of Kodiyeri Balakrishnan's sons leading "a shady life" of luxury and progeny of Mr Vijayan studying in private colleges elsewhere when the party was leading agitation against them back home, were issues of their discussion on the FB. Countless FB pages hail him as the 'real comrade'. One post on him says while other leaders helped children to scale up to the corporate world, he "kept his children with the proletariat." Both his sons live a simple life.
"He not even allowed them to get posted in the umpteen number of cooperative institutions under him," says another.It was this tough situation that forced him to warn his fans against using his name and the initials for FB pages which eulogise his larger than life image.
The appointment of Sanjay Kumar Gurudin as police chief in Kannur was the first move aimed at clipping him.
But despite the all-out support of Mr Vijayan, the party came in the open against the police chief alleging torture of party cadres. Mr Jayarajan himself led the agitations. After much resistance, Mr Vijayan was forced to withdraw Mr Gurudin. Since then the party has been on two tracks leading to Mr Jayarajan stepping down as district secretary, a post that he loved the most.
