Comrade in Arms
PINARAYI VIJAYAN, 74 The Marxist CM is the man for a crisis. He’s dealing with two now
Kerala’s plucky chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrestled two consecutive challenges this year, one natural, the other manmade. Both of them tested the mettle of the comrade from Kannur. In August, the worst cloudburst in a century killed over 400 people, wrecked infrastructure and agriculture leaving the state with a Rs 31,000 crore reconstruction bill. A proactive Vijayan cancelled a scheduled surgery in the US, worked 16hour days to coordinate rescue operations and emerge as the public face of the government, a CEOCM as many have called him. Under him, the LDF government has pushed several longdelayed projects like a gas pipeline from Mangaluru and sixlaning of highways.
Even as the state was recovering from the natural disaster, it had to reckon with a contentious Supreme Court verdict. On September 28, the court threw open the doors of the Sabarimala temple to women of all ages. Vijayan, widely known as a strict disciplinarian, may have misjudged the sentiment on the ground even as the police force zealously implemented the apex court’s order. Politically, it appeared a winwin for him as both the Congress and BJP were in favour of the verdict. But within days, the situation changed. Both the Congress and BJP began mobilising people against the verdict, the mass movement against the verdict giving the BJP a boost. The saffron party, whose attempts at breaking into the state’s bipolar polity have had little success so far, is at the forefront of the protests. The situation continues to put the state on the edge with small groups of women determined to enter the temple and protesters equally determined to stop them. Over 3,000 persons have been arrested and over 400 cases registered so far. Both Sabarimala and the rebuilding of the battered state will continue to test Vijayan’s government over the next twoandahalf more years of his tenure. Does he have a Plan B?