Mood is for evolving consensus

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:  With  the  CPM  branch conferences starting from  September 15,  the mood prevailing in the party is for evolving consensus.  The information trickling in from the grassroots-level of the party is that despite factional feuds,  the party leadership is keen on discouraging elections which would further worsen factionalism. The observers being sent to supervise the branch, local and area conferences will be stressing  a strategy  to ensuring the supremacy of the  official faction even while  including someone from the other faction which has become a microscopic minority in the party.However,  the grassroots- level workers of the party in many districts have admitted that unlike  in the last conferences,  the  factions within the official faction will be vying for supremacy giving a foothold to VS faction in certain places. The principles or guidelines for the party conferences will be reported at the lower fractions in the days to come.  Though the guidelines had  permitted elections under unavoidable circumstances,  observers rule out chances of  bringing alternative panels.  “ If anyone wants to contest against the panel being presented by the outgoing committee,  he or she may be allowed to do so. But the chances of allowing any group to present an alternative panel are very remote” a CPM source said. The state committee and district committees are giving the impression that it will take serious note of any attempt to bring in alternative panels.  However, it has been pointed out that the infighting within the official faction in certain districts like Alappuzha would pave the way for the party members still identified as VS men to get accommodated at various fractions.   “Though the VS faction had become a minority with little power to influence the results, the VS factor cannot be ignored completely,’’   a former CPM functionary from Alappuzha district said. He pointed out that the factional feud between the G Sudhakaran faction and Thomas Isaac faction in Alappuzha district  will have a cascading effect and will result in VS faction getting the benefit out of it.  The factional feuds within the official faction is not confined to Alappuzha alone, he said.