All hail Captain Vijayan, Kerala’s ‘Red Guardian’

Pinarayi Vijayan has converted electoral success into the building of a personality cult, reminiscent of a particular era in the Soviet Union.

As Pinarayi Vijayan strode into the Kerala Secretariat Employees Association (KSEA) event on January 16, over a hundred government servants collectively began to render, “Chembadakku Kaavalal, Chenganal kanakkoral…” (Oh guardian of the red army, like red embers you glow…).

The six-minute song hailing the Kerala chief minister was specially written for the occasion by part-time poetPoovathoor Chithrasenan – at the insistence of the KSEA, a pro-Left union. This may not be the first ballad written in praise of Vijayan in recent times, but it was certainly the first such instance unfolding right before him.

In 2022, Poovarani KVP Namboothiri had similarly hogged the headlines for his composition, “Innee Party Lokamengum Shobhicheedum Karanabhoothan Pinarayi Vijayan Enna Saghavu Thanne…” (Let us hail Comrade Pinarayi Vijayan for bringing glory to the Marxist party across the world…). The crucial difference being that song, performed at a Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) event, accompanied by hundreds of women dancing to Thiruvathira steps, was staged in Vijayan’s absence.

The party responded to it differently on the two occasions. Then state Secretary – the late Kodiyeri Balakrishnan – expressed his disapproval on the eulogy of Vijayan. Now, no such denunciation was forthcoming from the party. For Vijayan had already defended the ballad in advance, thus pre-empting any sort of condemnation by the party.

Vijayan overshadows state unit’s Secretary

Today, the Kannur strongman towers well and truly above the party in Kerala, rendering the state Secretary a pygmy. The organisational structure of the CPI-M makes the secretary the first among equals, although this has undergone a change ever since Vijayan assumed the CM’s mantle.

This played out most recently at the CPI-M Alappuzha district conference, where state Secretary MV Govindan was relegated to a sideshow. In a break from the past, Govindan did not address the cadres in the faction-ridden district, where the party had lost considerable votes to the Bhartiya Janata Party in the preceding Lok Sabha polls. Vijayan himself assumed control, to make sure that the representatives maintained restraint in their criticism.

The kind of song and dance performances that have come to deify Vijayan lately was virtually unheard of in the CPI-M of the past, with leaders such as EMS Namboodiripad strictly disavowing such practices. In fact, MT Vasudevan Nair, the legendary Malayalam writer who passed away recently, had underscored this point at his last public event, with Vijayan very much seated on the dais.

Cult of personality in communism

That said, communist parties across the world had taken a different trajectory. For instance, Stalin’s cult of personality had taken over the Bolsheviks in Soviet Russia as early as 1929, according to British political scientist and historian Archie Brown. This was also replicated in countries such as Romania, China and North Korea. Today, the Chinese Communist Party has elevated Xi Jinping as president for life. That begs the question as to whether such a personality cult is an inherent byproduct of communism.

As far back as 1904, Leon Trotsky had raised doubts about the principle of ‘democratic centralism’ envisaged by Lenin. History went on to vindicate Trotsky as the definition of the party was reduced to the Politburo, which further shrunk to the general secretary.

As George Bernard Shaw had feared, Marxism descended into a political religion. The trouble with religions is that it produces blind followers, and this naturally led to the creation of communist Gods. The cult of personality thus became ingrained in the communist movement worldwide – even if it didn’t place the individual over the party in theory.

The undivided Communist Party of India came to power in Kerala only after Khrushchev’s famous speech at the 20th Party Congress, and the repudiation of Stalin, in 1956. Hence, it may come as no surprise that the flagbearer of the Indian communist movement took so long to go down the path of deification.

‘Captain’s’ innings in Kerala

It also helped that the Left never won a re-election in Kerala, keeping it honest, until 2021. If Vijayan’s first term as CM (2016-2021) hadn’t exactly descended into a one-man show, the second term itself was a result of a shrill campaign calling for a strong leader to tide over the crises of Covid-19, recurrent floods, Nipah virus etc. Vijayan was repackaged
as ‘Captain’, with Soviet imagery to boot.

In fact, unlike Vijayan’s first term, which had, at least outwardly projected a collective leadership, the second term has totally been about the cult of Vijayan’s personality. And this period coincided with the decay of the organisation.

Quid Pro Quo

It is argued that Vijayan enjoys basking in such accolades. He is also the first Kerala CM – communist or otherwise – to have a fleet of vehicles accompanying his convoy. With regard to the ballad, another detail has been unearthed by the media. And that is to do with the quid pro quo afforded to the poet. It has come to light that an (out-of-turn) post-retirement appointment was granted to Chithrasenan in 2024.

The poets, journalists and other ‘influencers’ who act as Vijayan’s propagandists are regularly awarded and rewarded, with the government announcing a slew of awards on the lines of ‘Padma’. Today, many old-timers in the Marxist party are left worrying whether it can survive the decay accrued on account of Vijayan’s continuity.

The jury is not out on that, yet.