In politics, old friends can turn into foes and enemies to friends. And sweeter is when the enemy turned friend get prime posts or positions under the shadow of the party he or she shifts to. This is quite reasonable when talking of former Congress leader and MP/MLA for several times K V Thomas, who was elevated as Kerala’s special representative with Cabinet rank in New Delhi by the ruling CPI (M) coalition in Kerala.
The Left Government under Pinarayi Vijayan on January 19, 2022, decided to appoint Thomas as the state’s special representative in New Delhi to liaison with the Central Government for taking forward the projects that require the Central nod.
REWARD FOR DEFECTORS
Machiavelli was right when he said there were no friends and enemies in politics. With the CPI(M) left only with its presence in the state and its base getting worsening with the advent of right wing or religious parties, the CPI(M) seems to have decided not to leave any stone unturned in strengthening the party. The K V Thomas elevation episode truly sends a signal that the party would never abandon defectors and all would get their rewards.
K V Thomas is not the first defector who has been given the prime post. Earlier, Congress leader and three times MLA Shobana George was made the Khadi Board Vice Chairperson soon after she shifted her affiliation to the CPI (M). Now she is the chairperson of Kerala Government owned Ayurvedic Medicine Manufacturing Unit Oushadhi. Former KPCC organising secretary K P Anil Kumar, who defected to the CPI (M) last year, was appointed chairperson of the Overseas Development and Employment Promotion Consultants (Ltd). K V Thomas is not the last one. The CPI (M) knows that several leaders and workers in the Congress and its coalition are a worried lot, and if this trend of appeasing the leaders goes on, they could get them defected to their fold.
K V THOMAS AND THE MESSAGE
K V Thomas belongs to the influential Latin Catholic Community, which is on a tug of war with the CPI (M) in the Vizhinjam International Port. By giving a plum post to one of its members, the CPI(M) leadership hopes to make some influence on church leaders, who were spearheading the agitation. Moreover, with the Lok Sabha elections in the near future, the Left Party never wants to keep the Latin catholic community at bay, which they know could reflect in a few of the constituencies.
Moreover, this is a clear sign for the future politicians and the CPI (M) could point at K V Thomas for any further appeasement.
THE WORSENED RELATION
The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has expelled veteran leader K.V. Thomas from the party’s primary membership. The party high command has reportedly backed the KPCC decision. The relation between Thomas and the Congress turned worse after he decided to participate in a national seminar on the Centre-State relationship, which was organised in Kannur in connection with the party Congress of the CPI (M). He defied party dictates and attended the seminar. Later Thomas cemented his ties with the CPI(M) by openly campaigning for the party candidate in the Thrikkakara by poll.
His relation with the Congress started to widen after he was denied the ticket to contest the 2019 Parliament election. He was the only sitting MP of the party in the State who was denied the opportunity to contest. Though he tried to mend his relationship with the party through parleys with Sonia Gandhi, it did not work in his favour. The new leadership under Rahul Gandhi was also not accommodative at hearing his woes.
