Ullekh NP
The 22nd Party Congress of CPM was long on rhetoric and short on realism
In the run-up to the Assembly elections, will Pinarayi Vijayan’s ‘tough guy’ image be tough enough to outshine VS Achuthanandan’s charm
The oldest warhorse, the crafty red don, a damaged chief minister and the spoiler in the fray. It’s between the predictable and the historical in Kerala
What is it that makes VS Achuthanandan, Kerala’s most youthful politician at 92, the most popular Indian communist? Open catches up with the relentless fighter as he prepares for another battle
A few thousand women in the hill ranges of Munnar challenge the male dominated trade unions of Kerala
Sitaram Yechury incurs the displeasure of party leaders who want action, not talk, as the new chief goes ahead with plans to hold a plenum in November, just months ahead of crucial polls in Kerala where it is battling against heavy odds to wrest power from the Congress and in West Bengal where it is struggling to retain its second position
The nonagenarian communist went out of the conference hall bidding farewell to the general secretary Prakash Karat who unsuccessfully tried to pacify him
The state’s former CM has spoken up and put the CPM’s central leadership in a fix
VS Achuthanandan may have ended up on the losing side, but he made the Left look respectable even in defeat.