The Hindu : VS group loses grip on DYFI

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 29, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

VS group loses grip on DYFI

By Ignatius Pereira

KOLLAM April 28. As widely expected, the `VS' group within the CPI(M) has lost its grip over the State unit of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI). The declaration of the new list of office-bearers of the DYFI this afternoon here has exposed this fact.

The DYFI had for long remained a trusted wing of the VS group and the intention of holding the federation's Ninth State Conference at the VS group stronghold of Kollam was with the aim of maintaining the VS group's sway over the DYFI.

However, the list of the new office-bearers shows that the calculation had gone awry. In short, the rival Pinarayi group has used the DYFI to humble the VS group in the latter's own turf. The development was not altogether unexpected and the CPI(M) leader, V.S. Achuthanandan's conspicuous absence at the DYFI State conference venue is attributed to this.

Sources said that Mr. Achuthanandan considered it too much painful to be present at a venue which had predetermined that his group would be humbled there. The only solace that the VS group has in the new list of DYFI office-bearers is that his nominee and existing State president of the federation, P.R. Vasanthan, was allowed to continue in the same post for another term.

However, that was a compromise formula proposed by the VS group itself in order to avert the shock of a total debacle. Even that was not an easy task. Several top leaders of the party had to intervene in getting the formula effected.

More than Mr. Vasanthan, it was in giving another term to T. Sasidharan as secretary of the DYFI State unit that Mr. Achuthanandan was keen. However the Pinarayi group was not only adamant in ousting Mr. Sasidharan, but also considered it a prestige issue of the group.

Mr. Sasidharan, a trusted lieutenant of Mr. Achuthanandan, while holding the post of DYFI State secretary was also a member of the CPI(M) State committee. The Pinarayi group's grouse against him is that he had tried manipulating some of the district committee meetings of the DYFI in favour of the VS group. On those grounds the Pinarayi group had him dropped from the CPI(M) State committee.

The group war in the DYFI has taken an ominous turn since then and given the growing influence of Pinarayi Vijayan within the party and its feeder organisations, what happened today at Kollam was a foregone conclusion. A. Pradeep Kumar who replaced Sasidharan as the new State secretary of the DYFI is a staunch votary of the Pinarayi group. So is the new treasurer, Shyam Sunder.

The constitution of the new DYFI State committee is also one that is strongly pro-Pinarayi. Twenty-five members of the old committee have been replaced with new faces in order to achieve that. The humbling of the VS group at Kollam portends that a similar shift in group equations would also affect the district committee of the CPI(M) in the near future.

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