Communist Party of India (Marxist) – Kerala

Background

In July 1937, a clandestine meeting was held at Calicut.^[4] Five persons were present at the meeting, P. Krishna Pillai, K. Damodaran, E.M.S. Namboodiripad, N. C. Sekhar and S.V. Ghate. The first four were members of the Congress Socialist Party (CSP) in Kerala. In that meeting, they founded the first cell of the CPI in Kerala. A wider conference could be conducted at Parappram, Pinarayi in December 1939 where the entire Kerala unit of the Congress Socialist Party got converted into a unit of the CPI. Thus, the proper functioning of the Communist Party of India in Kerala as a mass party started on 31 December 1939 with the Pinarayi Conference.^[5]

In 1946, Punnapra-Vayalar uprising was a mass communist movement against C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, the Diwan (Head) of Travancore in Alappuzha. The revolt was due to over 21,000 peasants died in Cherthala taluk alone during the Famine (1939–43). This led to a war between the Travancore police and people. Over 400 people were killed. After the killings, many people around the areas turned into communists.^[6]

In 1957 Kerala Assembly election the Communist Party of India (CPI) was elected to rule the state government of Kerala under E. M. S. Namboodiripad only to have the government dismissed and President's Rule declared in 1959 following the Vimochana Samaram. In 1964, in conjunction with the widening rift between China and the Soviet Union, a large leftist faction of the CPI leadership, based predominantly in Kerala and West Bengal, split from the party to form the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPI (M). In Kerala, the CPI (M) in coalition with other parties wrested control from the Congress and its allies (frequently including the CPI) in 1967, in 1980, and in 1987. Support for the CPI (M) in Kerala in general elections has ranged from 19 percent to 26 percent, but the party has never won more than nine of Kerala's twenty seats in Parliament.

Formation of CPI(M) in Kerala

After the CPI split in 1964, prominent communist leaders in Kerala E.M.S. Namboodiripad, A. K. Gopalan and K. R. Gouri Amma stood with the Communist Party of India (Marxist). One year after the split, in the 1965 elections CPI(M) which was a splinter faction of CPI, emerged as the largest party in the assembly with 40 seats, while CPI could win only 3 seats. However no single party could form a ministry commanding majority and hence this election is considered abortive. President's rule was invoked for the fourth time.^[7][8]

In the 1967 Kerala assembly election both communist parties - CPI (M) and CPI - along with smaller parties including SSP and Muslim League contested this election as a United Front. A total of seven parties contested in the front, and the front was known as Saptakakshi Munnani.^[9] The CPI(M) led front won the election with a record 113 seats out of 133 seats and formed the government under E.M.S. Namboodiripad.^[10] After 2 years of the government, due to continuous problems between CPI and CPI(M) many ministers from the smaller parties resigned eventually, and many parties subsequently left the front owing to the loss of majority the Second Namboodiripad ministry was dissolved in 1969.^[11]

Emergency rule in Kerala

During the emergency rule, when communists in Kerala were organising the political activities from different hide-outs, many CPI(M) members and leaders including current chief minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan was imprisoned for one and a half years. He was arrested and tortured by police.^[12] After his release, Pinarayi Vijayan reached the Kerala Legislative Assembly and made an impassionate speech against senior Congress leader K. Karunakaran holding up the blood-stained shirt he wore when in police custody, causing serious embarrassment to the then C. Achutha Menon government.^[13] Hundreds of Communists, whether from the CPI(M), other Marxist parties, or the Naxalites, were arrested during the Emergency.^[14] Some were tortured or, as in the case of the Kerala student P. Rajan, killed.^[15][16]

Formation of Left Democratic Front alliance

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, two main pre-poll political alliances were formed: the Left Democratic Front (LDF), led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India and the United Democratic Front (UDF), led by the Indian National Congress.^[17]

Nayanar Era (1980 - 2001)

Since the formation of the alliance in 1980, E. K. Nayanar has led the party and alliance for two decades and has also became the longest-served Chief Minister of Kerala.^[18] The CPI(M) led alliance has won every alternate election in 1980 election, 1987 election and 1996 election since the formation led by Nayanar.^[19] In this period Kerala saw several progressive reforms, especially in the Land Reforms and Labour Welfare sectors. The Kerala Coir workers Welfare Fund Act, 1987, The Kerala Khadi Workers’ Welfare Fund Act, 1989, The Kerala Abkari Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1989, The Kerala Construction workers’ Welfare Fund Act, 1989 and the Kerala Ration Dealer's Welfare Fund Act 1998.^[20]

Recent State Conferences and major events

^[33]

• 1985 Ernakulam conference - alternative document and ouster of M. V. Raghavan
• 1988 Alappuzha conference - V. S. Achuthanandan re-elected as state secretary
• 1991 Kozhikode conference - V. S. Achuthanandan loses to E. K. Nayanar by 2 votes
• 1995 Kollam conference - downslide to VS faction
• 1998 Palakkad conference - comeback of VS and ouster of CITU lobby including M. M. Lawrence, V. B. Cheriyan, K. N. Raveendranath, Appukkutan Vallikunnu
• 2002 Kannur conference - start of the VS vs PV feud that shall continue until VS's retirement from active politics after 2015
• 2005 Malappuram conference
• 2008 Kottayam conference - paramountcy of PV faction
• 2012 Thiruvananthapuram conference
• 2015 Alappuzha conference - VS walks out ^[33]

List of state secretaries of CPI(M) Kerala

More information No., Portrait ...

No.	Portrait	Secretary (Birth–Death)	Term	Total Years as secretary
1		C. H. Kanaran (1909–1972)	1964–1972	8 Years
2		E. K. Nayanar (1919–2004)	1972–1980	8 Years
3		V. S. Achuthanandan (1923–2025)	1980–1992	12 Years
4		E. K. Nayanar (1919–2004)	1992–1996	4 Years
5		Chadayan Govindan (1929–1998)	1996-1998	2 Years
6		Pinarayi Vijayan (1945–)	25 September 1998 – 23 February 2015	17 Years
7		Kodiyeri Balakrishnan (1953–2022)	23 February 2015 – 28 August 2022	7 Years
8		M. V. Govindan (1953–)	31 August 2022–present	Incumbent

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List of Polit Bureau members from CPI(M) Kerala

More information No., Portrait ...

No.	Portrait	Name	Period
1		E. M. S. Namboodiripad	1964 - 1998
2		A. K. Gopalan	1964 - 1977
3		E. Balanandan	1978 - 2005
4		V. S. Achuthanandan	1986 - 2009
5		E. K. Nayanar	1992 - 2004
6		S. Ramachandran Pillai	1992 - 2022
7		Pinarayi Vijayan	1998–present
8		Kodiyeri Balakrishnan	2008 - 2022
9		M. A. Baby	2012–present
10		M. V. Govindan	2022–present
11		A. Vijayaraghavan	2022–present

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Current State Secretariat Leaders

Source:^[34]

Principal mass organisations

District Secretaries

Kerala Legislative Assembly

Rajya Sabha

Lok Sabha