His opponents refer to him as "Modi without the beard" and "Kerala's Mussolini". But the iron man of Left politics in Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan faced the biggest crisis in his short stint as chief minister last week.
Vijayan's trusted lieutenant and Industries Minister E P Jayarajan was forced to resign after alleged charges of nepotism against him, followed by a vigilance investigation. For Vijayan and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), this was a litmus test as two party central committee members - Jayarajan and P K Sreemathi, a member of Parlia-ment from Kannur - were involved in the allegations.
As industries minister, Jayarajan appointed several of his relatives to positions in state public sector undertakings (PSU). P K Sudhir Nambiar is Jayarajan's nephew and Sreemathi's son. He was appointed managing director of the Kerala State Industrial Enterprises. Deepthi Nishad, Jayarajan's brother's daughter-in-law, was given the job of general manager of Clays and Ceramics Products Ltd in Kannur with a salary of Rs 1 lakh per month. Among the two, Nambiar allegedly did not meet the qualifications set by the Restructuring and Internal Audit Board, which executes state-owned enterprises' reform initiatives. This sequence of events made Jayarajan the first CPI-M minister to be sacked in Kerala.
"All these appointments were done as per the rules. I wanted to clean up the industries ministry, which was full of corruption," said Jayarajan, responding to the allegations against him. "I was a victim of a media witch hunt for about 12 days. Out of 41 PSUs, only 10 are profit-making and the marwadi lobby and the cement lobby were against my decisions."
What led to Jayarajan's fall
In the early half of the last decade, Vijayan faced a serious allegation regarding his involvement in the SNC Lavalin case. A Comptroller and Auditor General of India report said a deal struck by Vijayan as electricity minister in 1998 with Canadian firm Lavalin for the repair of three generators had cost the state exchequer an additional Rs 375 crore. This was at a time when his political and party opponents, including former chief minister V S Achuthanandan, were publicly baying for Vijayan's blood, when he was the party secretary. The one man who stood as Vijayan's backbone during that time of crisis was Jayarajan.
"There were always active Kannur and Travancore lobbies in the CPI-M," said advocate A Jayashankar, a senior political analyst from Kerala. "The Kannur lobby, led by Jayarajan stood firm with Vijayan during his crisis days. Hence, there was a feeling that Vijayan may help him out this time."
However, major coalition parties, including the CPI and even Achuthanandan came out in public alienating Jayarajan and even other CPI-M leaders from the Travancore lobby demanded his resignation. CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury's stand - that he would take stringent action against Jayarajan - added fuel to fire. Party insiders say disciplinary action or a public warning against Jayarajan and Sreemathi could come soon.
Political controversies are not new to the 66-year-old Kannur strongman, who also handled the sports ministry. Earlier, as general manager of party mouthpiece Deshabhimani, his decision to accept bonds from a businessman had invited protests within the party. After becoming minister too, he was trolled extensively on social media for his gaffe citing Olympian boxer Muhammad Ali as a Keralite. His allegations of corruption against Olympian Anju Bobby George, which led to her resignation from the post of president of the Kerala Sports Council, also invited public ire.
"These issues dented the image of the government. I believe they were a cover-up to hide the involvement of Vijayan and other ministers in the issue through Jayarajan's resignation," BJP state General Secretary K Surendran said. "To my knowledge at least four relatives of Jayarajan were appointed to state PSUs. I reported to the vigilance department that he had taken a bribe of Rs 30 lakh for some appointments."
What this means for Kerala politics
Jayarajan was considered the number two in Vijayan's ministry. His exit means that if there is a court verdict against Vijayan in the Lavalin case, Kerala politics may well see the comeback of 93-year-old Achuthanandan to the CM's post. Party sources say it also opens up chances for Law Minister A K Balan and party politburo member M A Baby to the top spot.
A close aide of Jayarajan said on condition of anonymity: "In his constituency, he had started breakfast as well as lunch free in every school. He is also running an old-age home with close to 100 members, in his personal capacity. He is a person of deeds, not words."
Political analysts believe that a comeback may be difficult for Jayarajan. However, the entire episode has boosted Vijayan's image as people have begun comparing him to previous Congress chief minister Oommen Chandy. "Even after many corruption allegations and sex scandals, Chandy always backed his ministers. This has raised Vijayan's stature as an iron man, who is strict against corruption and nepotism," said Jayashankar.
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