Kerala Elections: CPM Leader P Jayarajan on Party's Defeat and Right-Wing Forces' Growing Influence

He survived a bid on his life and enjoys a mass following that not many CPM leaders in the state can match. Within the party, P Jayarajan’s story is quieter but telling. With the CPM in the midst of a churn following a heavy defeat in the assembly elections, the Kannur strongman speaks to TNIE on the reasons for the loss, the Sangh Parivar’s growing influence in the state, and what the party needs to do to bounce back in the electoral arena. Rather than lapses within the party, this was a concerted and deliberate effort by right-wing forces in Kerala to defeat the Left. In the first election after the formation of Kerala in 1957, the undivided Communist Party got 35.7% of the votes. In the 114-member assembly, the party won 60 seats. They came to power because the Congress, PSP, and the Muslim League fought the elections separately. Before coming to power, there were class struggles and workers’, farmers’ and teachers’ protests. Intense class struggles happened in northern Kerala, in places like Kayyur, Karivellur, Kavumbayi, Munayankunnu, and Padikunnu, as well as in Punnapra-Vayalar. The 1957 victory was the culmination of those struggles. In 1959, all reactionary forces united to bring down the EMS government. Caste organisations and religious leadership directly stepped in to organise the Liberation Struggle (Vimochana Samaram). Following this, the central government dismissed the EMS government. When elections were held in 1960, the Communist Party’s vote share actually increased to 39%, but their seats fell to 29. When right-wing forces unite in Kerala, the seat count drops even when the vote share rises.