Madurai/Thiruvananthapuram: MA Baby's elevation as CPM General Secretary signals the emergence of a new power centre within the Kerala faction of the party, long considered Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's stronghold.

Political observers are closely watching how Baby’s ascent will recalibrate the balance of power between the state leadership and the newly appointed national leader, known for his independent thinking and occasional dissent.

Exactly eight years ago, on April 5, 2017, Baby had sharply criticised police action against Mahija, the mother of Jishnu Pranoy, who had come to Thiruvananthapuram seeking justice for her son. Baby’s outspokenness and moral clarity have remained hallmarks of his political persona. Though Pinarayi Vijayan’s support played a crucial role in his elevation, Baby now technically occupies a position higher than the chief minister in the party hierarchy.

Former General Secretary Prakash Karat, despite being a Keralite by origin, had largely refrained from intervening in the party's state-level affairs. In contrast, M A Baby is deeply rooted in Kerala’s political milieu, and his responses to state issues may reflect that connection.

In this context, all eyes will be on Baby’s position on contentious matters related to the state’s administration. The state will be watching to see if his interventions carry the tone of correctives. With his arrival, a third power centre is clearly taking shape alongside Pinarayi Vijayan and State Secretary M V Govindan.

In many ways, the elevation as general secretary also marks a poetic turn in Baby’s political journey. When he returned to Kerala from Delhi two decades ago, he was widely seen as a future chief minister. However, after serving a term as Education Minister under the V S Achuthanandan government, his influence in state politics waned. Despite being elevated to the Politburo, his role remained largely confined to the party’s Delhi centre.

Though his family remained in Kerala and he frequently returned, his involvement in the state's political affairs was mostly limited to inter-party discussions. At the same time, he maintained cordial ties with Pinarayi Vijayan. Now, the politburo member who had long been somewhat distant from the Kerala leadership finds himself as the national leader of the party.

One key issue likely to stir ripples across Kerala is his stance on CPM's coordination with the Congress. Some within the party may argue that Kerala’s leadership is now exerting disproportionate influence over the central command.

Meanwhile, K K Shailaja may feel overlooked once again. Despite two women vacating positions in the Politburo, she was passed over. E P Jayarajan's aspirations to reach the Politburo also failed to materialise.

The party’s decision to reserve a vacancy for a woman leader led to the surprise entry of K S Saleekha into the Central Committee. Saleekha had joined the state committee only in 2021. To make room for her, senior state committee member P K Sainaba has been sidelined. This move also dashed the hopes of Minister P A Mohammed Riyas, who had expected to make his way into the committee as a potential minority face. P K Biju, too, was overlooked, despite his prospects of replacing A K Balan as the Scheduled Tribes representative.

Puthalath Dinesan, a trusted aide of both Pinarayi Vijayan and M V Govindan, is steadily emerging as the party’s ideological face. T P Ramakrishnan’s inclusion in the Central Committee came as no surprise, as the LDF convener is usually made part of the central body.

However, one appointment that did raise eyebrows was that of John Brittas. He was made a permanent invitee to the Central Committee just a month after becoming a state committee member. Brittas’s meteoric rise within party ranks has sparked mixed reactions — even among Pinarayi Vijayan’s loyalists.