In Binoy Viswam, its new state secretary, the CPI in has a soft and smiling leader, a rarity among the current lot of Left leaders in Kerala. Viswam was officially made the successor of Kanam Rajendran, who passed away last month, as the party state council unanimously appointed him to the post on Thursday.

It was clear that Viswam would not have any challenger from within the party at the moment as he had already been made interim secretary following Kanam's death. The demised leader himself had suggested that Viswam look after the party affairs when his deteriorating health forced him to go on leave.

In CPI's evident factional war, Viswam belonged to the Kanam wing as opposed to the faction led by veteran K E Ismail and assistant secretary Prakash Babu. Despite being identified as part of a faction, Viswam, a Rajya Sabha member and former state minister for forest, is known for his all-encompassing attitude.

This trait of consensus has made him the right pick to head the left party in the face of a crucial election. “Had it been any other leader instead of Viswam, there could have been an election,” a district-level CPI leader told Onmanorama, calling him a man of ideological conviction. The leader, however, did not hesitate to express his doubts over Viswam’s ability to set the CPI house in order amid the ongoing factional feud.

Comrade’s challenges
The factional feud within the CPI, the second largest ally in the Left Democratic Front, mainly stems from the approach the party should have towards the CPM, the alliance head. While one section of the party believes that the party can survive only by constantly challenging the CPM, the other prefers a path of consensus for the sake of Left unity. The late Rajendran belonged to the second group which is of the view that it is important not to weaken the Left front from within at a time when it’s politically and electorally cornered to Kerala.

A vocal advocate of Left unity across the country, Viswam is unlikely to upset the CPM leadership just like his predecessor Rajendran did, though after an initial round of playing the vocal critical insider. With a perceivably soft leader like Viswam in place of Rajendran who effectively wielded his power over the dissenters within the organisation, the factionalism in CPI is only likely to flare up. Viswam’s primary challenge will be to deal with this.

Right after Viswam’s appointment as interim state chief, Ismail had raised some criticism of the move. It is seen as a signal from the rival camp that they are in no mood to give up.

A zero to forget
Viswam is secular to the core and a comrade who fights the Sangh Parivar tooth and nail. However, when it comes to the Lok Sabha points table, his party is at present equal to the BJP with a zero. In the 2019 Congress/UDF sweep, the CPM managed to win at least one seat while the CPI drew a blank in all the four seats it contested.

Viswam’s appointment comes ahead of another general election and it should be a matter of prestige for him to get the party out of the shameful zero. From candidate selection to campaign strategies, Viswam will have a lot of tough nuts to crack.

Viswam’s communication skills are definitely to his advantage. Having risen through party ranks right from student politics, he is also expected to energise the youth cadre of the party.