A day after, VS loyalists keep their cool

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A day after V S Achuthanandan’s plain talk against CPM state secretary Pinarayi  Vijayan terming slain RMP leader T P Chandrasekharan as a traitor, there has been no massive response to his speech from the party rank and file except for some flex boards and posters in Kollam, Alappuzha and Kasaragod districts. If the party commissars feel reassured by this lack of spontaneous response which had been visible during the denial of party ticket to VS to contest the Assembly elections, they may be in for a rude shock later. Reports  from  Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Kozhikode and Kasaragod districts show that the CPM cadre as well as its sympathisers are keeping their fingers crossed and have adopted a policy of wait and watch.“Whether the party is in power or not, the local level leadership enjoys some fruits of power. It may be some position in a local body, a board membership in a co-operative bank   or in an institution owned or managed by the party. No one wants to throw it away,” says K Sreekumar, a former functionary of the CPM  in Chengannur.Pointing out that recently several party workers  have  quit and joined the CPI, he said the trend would continue if  VS was given a harsh treatment.Many CPM workers in Chengannur, Mavelikkara, Mannar, Amblapuzha areas in Alappuzha district told Express that  they don’t expect the party  leadership to expel or suspend VS at this juncture.In Kollam city, near the clock tower, a flex board appeared on Sunday which read “VS is not alone , Lakhs will  rally behind him”.Many told Express that this must have been placed by party workers who still want VS to be retained in the party. A   district level leader who had been a known loyalist of VS till recently said  despite being a strong forte of VS, no  district level or area level leader in Kollam will  go with VS in the event of his expulsion. But a sizeable section of the party cadre may stand by VS in case of any disciplinary action.S Suseelan, former district secretariat member of CPM, said no one should underestimate the influence of VS despite his age.