VS and the 'Vettinirathal' saga: How Achuthanandan singled-handedly decimated CITU lobby in CPI(M)'s 1998 Palakkad conference

In Kerala politics, 'vettinirathal' (literally translates to cut down) refers to one shocking episode from the 1998 Palakkad conference and it remains one of the key turning points during the 101 years in the life of former Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan. He passed away on July 21, 2025.

It all started with the CPI(M)'s 1987 decision pushed by former CM EMS Namboodiripad that the party should fight elections cutting any links with "communal" parties, referring to its then LDF ally, All-India Muslim League, a splinter group of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).

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The strategy was met with resistance from the party's trade union CITU as they were opposed to treating IUML as a communal party like the BJP. However, the move paid off as the LDF won the assembly elections in 1987.

However, the Left lost the 1991 assembly elections to the Congress-led UDF and CITU lobby saw this as the right time to seek a renewed discussion on cosying up to the IUML. The then CPI(M) state secretary, Achuthanandan, and his camp resisted the move, asserting that the party should stick to EMS's strategy.

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The friction between the VS camp and the CITU lobby grew worse and both sides began functioning independently despite the party leadership publicly denying infighting in its rank and file. Amid the factionalism, Achuthanandan lost the state secretary elections twice, putting an end to his tenure in the post that lasted from 1980 to 1992.

Achuthanandan was the clear candidate to take over as Kerala CM if LDF came to power in 1996. However, when the results came, CPI(M) swept the elections, but Achuthanandan lost to the Congress in the communist-dominated constituency in Alappuzha. Even Congress's P.J. Francis, who defeated the CM probable by 1,965 votes, was surprised by the results as he was prepared to lose the election for a third time. An internal probe by the party revealed that Achuthanandan's campaign managers worked with the CITU leaders to ensure his defeat.

The communist stalwart vowed to ensure the complete decimation of the CITU lobby in the party. In the 1998 Alappuzha district elections of the party, the VS camp ensured that none of the CITU leaders got inducted into the 45-member district panel.

He did not stop there. Achuthanandan's "unkindest cut" came during the party's 1998 Palakkad state conference. Senior CITU leaders M.M. Lawrence, K.N. Ravendranath, V.B. Cherian, Appukkuttan Valikkunnu and O. Bharathan were voted out from the CPI(M) state committee in a well-calculated coup orchestrated by Achuthanandan.

Key leaders who helped Achuthanandan in the coup were Pinarayi Vijayan, M.A. Baby and Thomas Isaac. As a mark of gratitude, the veteran leader helped Vijayan assume the post of CPI(M) state secretary. However, the younger leader turned against the former, with his faction plotting a similar coup against Achuthanandan's loyalists.

At the Malappuram conference, 21 Achuthanandan loyalists were defeated by Vijayan's side. However, despite the Kannur faction pushing for a ban on Achuthanandan from contesting in the 2006 assembly elections, the party was forced to field him amid outrage against Vijayan over the SNC-Lavalin bribery case.

Even after retiring from active politics in 2019, Achuthanandan remained popular. The love of the masses for their beloved comrade is sure to stay long after his demise.

India