“Pinarayi Vijayan is not Binoy Viswam. Pinarayi Vijayan has adopted Pinarayi Vijayan’s stand. Binoy Viswam may have a different stand. He may not allow him in his car. I still think what I did was right,” Mr Vijayan said at a press conference here.
At the same time, Mr Vijayan strongly rejected Mr Natesan’s controversial description of the CPI as ‘Chathiyan Chandu’. The CPI is a key partner in the LDF and no one on the Left feels that they have been betrayed, he said. “The CPI is one of the most important partners in our front. It is a left party. We have very warm relations with that party in matters related to the front. None of us feel betrayed in any way,” he said.
In the morning hours of Thursday, CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan told a television channel that the party had no compulsion to rein in Mr Natesan. “We have always accepted all the good things he said while rejecting his wrong statements,” Mr Govindan said and this was echoed by party general secretary MA Baby later in the day.
When asked about Mr Natesan’s statement against the CPI, Mr Govindan said the CPI and the CPI(M) remained on the same page and were the two strongest allies of the Left Front.
When asked at his press conference who will lead the Left Front in the Assembly polls, Mr Vijayan said the party will take a decision at the right time. “In our case, all these decisions are taken jointly. I do not decide personally, but a decision is taken by the party,” he said.
Mr. Vijayan also urged caution against any decline in vigilance against communalism in Kerala society. “Kerala exists as a strong center of secularism. We need to seriously look at whether that is changing Kerala and if so, in what direction,” he said. He accused the Congress and the BJP of supporting each other in the Kerala elections, citing the BJP’s victory in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation as a more recent example.
Published – Jan 1, 2026 9:33 PM IST
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