Second term crowned as CAPTAIN! Pinarayi Vijayan: A hard taskmaster of unwavering determination!
By Express News Service,04th May 2021
Those who know Pinarayi Vijayan closely will admit secretly that the leader follows the style of a mighty CEO. He is a matter of fact person and a hard task master.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan (Photo | PTI)
The Captain!
In any case Vijayan is the man who brought the CPM to this height of glory in kerala while it is wiped out in all other states. We salute and congratulate him for that and to deserve the title: CAPTAIN!
So it behooves that our readers know much more about him. This is provided by the article published below. His first term CM ha already endeared him to the public. We wish him to grow to greater heights as a man of ‘We the people, especially the poor, hungry, exploited and marginalized! james kottoor (Chicago) ccv editor.
Please read below a wrte-up on Viyan, the CAPTAIN!
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Those who know Pinarayi Vijayan closely will admit secretly that the leader follows the style of a mighty CEO. He is a matter of fact person and a hard task master.
Kerala benefited from Pinarayi’s will power and unwavering determination when projects like LNG pipeline and national highway development that had been trapped in red tape started rolling during the tenure of the outgoing government.
The leader who is willing to listen to experts and frame his mind on any issue doesn’t prefer further debate or change of plan on issues that he feels settled. He takes his team into confidence and normally doesn’t disown team members if he is convinced about the genuineness of their action.
But, on Monday, while speaking to reporters, Pinarayi Vijayan refused to answer tricky questions regarding his swearing in.
“The party and LDF have to decide that. We will announce the decision once that is taken,” was his humble reply to repeated queries. That underlined another dominant characteristic of the CM. Being a trained cadre of the CPM, Pinarayi Vijayan never violates tenets of inner party discipline.The 99-seat win handed over to the LDF by the electorate of Kerala will empower Pinarayi Vijayan to re-assert his style of functioning. Of course, he will be loyal to the party, but his friends there will ensure that party doesn’t create any trouble for his style of governance.
Ahead of the finalisation of CPM’s candidates, Pinarayi Vijayan took a stand in the state secretariat that the party should implement the two-term norm strictly. Though the initial feeling in the party was that a few senior leaders will be given exemption, the party decided against that. Five of the cabinet colleagues of Pinarayi Vijayan, including E P Jayarajan, A K Balan, Thomas Isaac and G Sudhakaran, were denied tickets.
A few of the leaders were personally upset and there were unrest among cadres too.
In addition, Kannur strongman P Jayarajan was also kept out of the candidate list. Despite the unrest among a section of leaders against the decision, the state committee gave a unanimous nod for the proposal. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who shares a brotherly affection with Pinarayi Vijayan, volunteered the task of convincing leaders who were skeptical of the decision and he even quoted the Bengal debacle of power corrupting party leaders while explaining the decision in Thiruvananthapuram district committee.
The authoritarian ways of Pinarayi Vijayan and strict adherence to party discipline had helped him wither away the challenges he had faced during the 16-years he had helmed the state CPM. In fact, much earlier to that, Vijayan had proven his leadership skills by taking up the role of a saviour when Thalassery communal riot happened and when party stalwart M V Raghavan staged a rebellion in the party.
Born on March 21, 1944 in Pinarayi, near Parapram, the birthplace of the Communist movement in Kerala, Vijayan had a childhood of struggles. His father Mundayil Koran was originally a farmer who turned to toddy tapping. Vijayan’s elder brothers Nanu and Kumaran had to leave studies at school because of circumstances triggered by poverty. Vijayan still remembers fondly how his mother Kalyani had been particular to teach him “till he fails”.
Vijayan became the Kannur district secretary of the Kerala Students Federation while studying for BA (Economics) in Brennan College in Thalassery. He went on to become its state secretary and, later, state president of the Kerala State Youth Federation. In 1968, at the age of 24, Vijayan found a place in the Kannur district committee of the CPM. Two years later, the party gifted Vijayan an assembly ticket from Koothuparambu. He rose to prominence when he won in 1977 and again in 1991 – from the same constituency.
During the Emergency period, Pinarayi Vijayan had to face brutal police torture. In 1978, he was elected the Kannur district secretary of CPM. In 1996, when he took over the reins of the state electricity department, the state was facing acute power shortage. It was during this stint that Pinarayi Vijayan initiated the SNC-Lavalin deal which later turned out to be a major controversy. Even after two decades, the case hasn’t been settled and the Supreme Court considered CBI’s appeal against Vijayan’s discharge in the corruption case related to the deal even on the polling day.
The controversy also triggered unrest within the CPM against Pinarayi Vijayan. A section of leaders led by veteran leader V S Achuthanandan tried their level best to remove Vijayan from the post of CPM state secretary which he had assumed in 1998 following the death of Chadayan Govindan. However, all those efforts were in vain and he continued to hold the office for 16 years.
Vijayan didn’t contest in 2006 and 2011 assembly polls though the PB had asked him to contest. Along with V S Achuthanandan, he led LDF’s election campaign in 2016 and ensured an impressive win for the front. The state has known the leader better during the last five years when it had to face major crises.
Back home, the busy leader is a loving husband and a caring father. Vijayan’s wife Kamala is a retired school teacher. His son Vivek is a banking professional based in the middle east and daughter Veena is an IT entrepreneur. Veena’s husband Mohammed Riyaz is the new MLA from Beypore.
UNIQUE PLANS
Ahead of the finalisation of CPM’s candidates, Pinarayi Vijayan took a stand in the state secretariat that the party should implement the two-term norm strictly. Though the initial feeling in the party was that a few senior leaders will be given exemption, the party decided against that. Five of the cabinet colleagues of Pinarayi were denied tickets.
