India’s CPM gets dragged on social media over Tripura loss

Thiruvananthapuram: In the wake of an electoral drubbing for the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), in the Tripura Assembly elections, many social media commentators in Kerala on Saturday were busy rubbing the poll loss into the Left party’s wounds, since Kerala now is the only Indian state it controls.

While CPM leader Prakash Karat and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan came under the most fierce attack, party General Secretary Sitaram Yechury also came in for flak for his statement at the party conference in Thrissur last week that state leaders should not forget that CPM is “not just limited to CPM in Kerala”.

Yechury’s stand on a CPM tie-up with the Congress to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party was outvoted at the Central Committee meeting.

Leading the fight against Yechury was the Kerala unit of the CPM, fully under Vijayan’s control.

Social media users pointed out that the Left party had indeed become ‘Communist Party of Kerala-Marxist’.

A meme showed a symbolic coffin, with ‘Tripura’ written on it, being carried by Vijayan, state party Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and former Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan.

Another meme showed two leading comedians of Malayalam cinema lying bandaged in a cot, with the words ‘Bengal’ and ‘Tripura’ and saying there is one more [Kerala] who will be coming in very soon.

While no Kerala CPM leader has so far reacted to Tripura defeat, Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala of the Congress said results clearly show the need for a “united fight against the BJP”.