After a rebellion at the ballot box that helped defeat CPIM candidates in the party's traditional Kannur strongholds, the cadre now appears to be targeting the state leadership directly.
Several posters have come up in the district, including Anthoor municipality, demanding the resignation of the party's state secretary, M.V. Govindan and Kannur district secretary K.K. Ragesh. Even social media is flooded with messages seeking a change in the leadership.
Under a Facebook post by Ragesh, a user had commented, "Government did what it could...Did the party do what it was supposed to do? Kannur has suffered a defeat unlike anything it has ever seen before. A person in the district secretariat shifted the party and contested for the UDF. Another party member from the district committee contested and defeated the party. Shouldn't the district secretary, who failed to see all this, be the first to step down?"
Since the candidate selection process in Taliparamba, where the decision to field Govindan's wife, P.K. Shyamala, triggered resentment, with former district secretariat member T.K. Govindan quitting the party and contesting backed by the UDF. Govindan defeated Shyamala by 12,551 votes.
Meanwhile, V.Kunhikrishnan in Payyanur stood as a rebel and defeated the official party candidate. Winning margins in Azhikode, Dharmadam, and Kuthuparamba plummeted, with party workers citing these setbacks as clear evidence of a widening disconnect between the leadership and the cadre base.
The demand for a leadership change has some names repeatedly invoked as alternatives, including those of M. Swaraj and P. Jayarajan.
“Let M Swaraj become the secretary. Comrade (M V Govindan), for the time being, please stay at home," wrote another social media user.
There were also resentments against P. Sasi, CM Pinarayi Vijayan's political secretary. "P. Sasi should not be allowed anywhere near the party. What obligation does the party have towards him, other than he is Pinarayi Vijayan's favourite," wrote another user.
The criticism is not confined to Kannur; calls for course correction, humility, and accountability have emerged from Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, and Kasaragod as well.