Kannur: In 2018, when Kerala was in the throes of fiery protests against the LDF government's decision to encourage women to enter the Sabarimala shrine, a prominent leader from CPM in Kannur threw her weight behind the government.
But P P Divya, an outspoken leader and otherwise a fiery defender of the party, took a cautious stance then. In a private conversation on the sidelines of an event in Cherukunnu, she voiced concern about leaders' lack of restraint, especially when they had to face the public in a few months.
Although two journalists were within earshot, she spoke freely. "Perhaps she wanted us to hear her opinion," said one of the journalists. "That's the Divya we know. Aggressive and articulate but knows which battles to pick. I cannot understand how she landed in this mess," said another journalist tracking her career.
Divya was back then the Vice-President of Kannur District Panchayat, and the rising star and the female face of CPM. Her name did the rounds during the Lok Sabha election as a potential candidate either in Kasaragod or Kannur.
"She would have been fielded as an MLA candidate either in Mattannur, Koothuparamba or her home constituency Kalliasseri. Not just because there is no other female leader of her stature in Kannur but also because of her acceptance among party supporters," said an Area Committee Secretary of the CPM. However, to borrow Divya's words, "everything changed in a moment".
On October 17, P P Divya (39), a three-time District Panchayat member, was forced to step down as President after being booked for abetment of suicide of Additional District Magistrate Naveen Babu K. Unlike the journalists, her colleagues from the rival parties and insiders who worked with her in the CPM District Committee and in the DYFI have a different perception of her.
"She is the owner of a personality that suffers from media mania. She wants to project only herself, while dismissing contrary views. She has traits of an authoritarian leader," said Lisy Joseph, Congress's District Panchayat member who contested against Divya for the President's post and lost in 2020. Her colleagues in the CPM share a similar opinion of her. "She is a new-gen CPM leader who knows how to manipulate the flaws and weaknesses of the present-day party," said a CPM District Committee member.
"She has a curated image on social media and is pally with the media in Kannur and uses them to her advantage," he said. At the farewell meeting of Naveen Babu, she took a journalist from a city channel to cover her "well-intentioned criticism of corruption". But that was not the first time she used corruption or the media as a tool against an official she had beef with, said a former CPM leader in the District Committee.
A few years ago, a top newspaper ran a couple of reports against a government orthopaedic surgeon, accusing him of being corrupt. "The doctor was close to the party and he came to us saying Divya was behind the news report. The party warned her and the news reports stopped," he said. Divya just wanted him transferred out, he said. "Luckily for us, the doctor did not do anything drastic," he said.
Divya had another brush with the law in 2016, when she and AN Shamseer, the current Speaker, were booked for abetment of attempted suicide after a young woman from a Scheduled Caste community, residing in Kuttimakkool, near Thalassery, tried to take her own life. According to reports, the woman and her sister had approached the CPM branch committee office for help after her father was assaulted. Three days later, they were summoned to the police station and arrested on charges of assaulting party workers and destroying property.
One sister was jailed with her one-year-old daughter. The CPM state committee intervened for their release. However, one sister attempted suicide by consuming sleeping pills. Her relatives claimed that the two CPM leaders' remarks during a channel discussion incited the act. The charges against Divya and others were later dropped after a medical expert concluded the pills would not cause death.
Divya, like Shamsheer, is not everybody's favourite at the party in Kannur. She was nurtured by CPM Central Committee members PK Sreemathi and EP Jayarajan and enjoys the affection of the decision-makers in the party. "She was groomed by the party to be the next MLA and minister. The other contemporary female leaders in the party pale in comparison to Divya" said a former District Panchayat member of the Congress.
Rising to the top
Puthiya Purayil Divya did not have an early start in the SFI, the student outfit of the CPM. But her sense of politics was forged in her village Puthiyapura and influenced by her father, a theatre artiste.She joined SFI when she enrolled for pre-degree at Krishna Menon Memorial Government College in Kannur.
By the time she completed her BA in Malayalam, she had become the SFI Central Committee member and state vice-president of DYFI, the youth wing of the CPM. She is now a member of the CPM's Kannur District Committee and executive committee member of All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA), the women's wing of the CPM.
When Divya was 25, she was elected to the Kannur District Panchayat for the first time from Cherukunnu division in 2010. She was re-elected to the District Panchayat board again in 2015 from the Kadannappally division. In a rare instance, the CPM fielded her for the third time in 2020 from Kalliassery.
"Politically, however, she was impulsive and abrasive — traits that we associate with SFI and DYFI. I won't fault her for that; it's how her organisation trains its members," What unfolded at the ADM's farewell meeting reflects her impulsive behaviour. Personally, I'm saddened by what happened to both the ADM and Divya," said Congress's P Madhavan 'Master' (60), who was Divya's colleague in the 2010-2015.
Her second term started on an aggressive note. She was elected as the Vice-President, and Karayi Rajan, the accused in the murder case of Popular Front activist Fasal, was the President. She was the de facto president for a couple of months because Karayi was not allowed to enter the district as part of his bail condition.
The very first session of her second term started on a bitter note. Divya vehemently opposed the decision of the previous governing body, headed by CPM's KA Sarala, to allow a Congress-affiliated employees' union to use a District Panchayat commercial space as its office, said Muslim League’s Ansari Thillankeri, who represented Cherukunnu from 2015 to 2020.
The opposition parties held Sarala in high regard. But Divya treats other parties and their opinions like dirt, he said. "For her, there is only CPM," he said.But she ran into trouble with her own party too when she created a fuss demanding an official Innova car for herself, he said. "She got it. Till today, Kannur's District Vice-President must be the only District Vice-President to have an official car," he said.
The CPM, however, warned her after it was reported that she used the official car for a private family trip, said the former District Committee member.
Articulate and graceful leader
Her supporters take pride in how she presents herself and takes up issues. "She is graceful and elegant in her sarees, each always paired with a perfectly matching blouse. You can always spot a smile on her face," said a female DYFI activist in Kannur. Even when Divya is invited to flag off a cycle rally at 6 am, she will go there prepared and make an informed speech, she said.
Divya talks point by point, never babbling like other leaders, said another male DYFI leader. She stood up and defended the government when the Chief Minister's Office faced allegations of gold smuggling. "She is not a leader that is easily shaken. Look at her Facebook post announcing her resignation. She said she would defend herself. She did not apologise," he said.
But the DYFI leader and several CPM workers believe ADM's death had sounded the death knell for her political career, too. "I don't think she will make a comeback. It is a loss for Kerala politics," said the Area Secretary. The only option is to defy the media outcry and field her for the Assembly election, he said.
The former District Committee member said that it would be difficult for the party to do that. But what will work in her favour is that the other prominent female leaders of the CPM in Kannur are all in past their 50s and do not enjoy Divya's clout among the people, he said.
However, the opposition parties dismissed her resignation and the FIR as hogwash to placate the CPM's Pathanamthitta District Committee, which vouched for Naveen Babu's integrity and demanded action against the culprits. "The CPM also wanted to save its face before facing the people in the three by-elections," said Lisy Joseph.
"We know nothing happened to (former Anthoor municipal chairman) PK Shyamala after Sajan Parayil committed suicide. We know nothing happened to (Thiruvananthapuram Mayor) Arya Rajendran after she blocked and threatened a KSRTC driver.
We know where P Sasi is today after he was expelled from the party for sexual assault. We know what happened to CKP Padmanabhan, who raised the allegation against Sasi. So we are not falling for the FIR or the resignation," she said.