Latest news with #Left
Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Corbyn's hard-Left party aiming for quarter of vote
The formation of the new party raises the prospect of the Left splitting in a similar way to how Reform UK has peeled away support from the Conservatives on the Right. Mr Corbyn told activists: 'I'm hoping we can get through this process very, very quickly so we can do an establishment and a launch very, very quickly. 'So well in advance of next year's local elections we will have in place an organisation that supports local campaigns, supports independents in their campaigns and comes together under if you like a common badge, common emblem, common symbol, common umbrella.' Labour suffered heavy losses to Reform at the local elections this May and party figures fear next year's polls will be worse still. The party will be defending 14 out of 16 of the borough councils that will be re-elected in the autumn. It is also in charge of 21 out of 32 boroughs up for election in London. Further losses to Reform are also expected at the Welsh elections on the same day, while the SNP hopes to capitalise in the Scottish elections on Labour's poor national polling.
New Indian Express
11 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Fare well VS Achuthanandan: The leader who never lost his soul
It's the day when Kerala is seeing the last farewell for the late VS Achuthanandan. The outpouring of love for the Communist stalwart, with 'Samaram aanu VS' booming all along the way, stands testimony to the fact that the 101-year-old will always live on in the hearts and minds of the millions who cherish their Comrade. Never an ideologue, the legendary leader was able to effectively fill the political vacuum left by EMS Namboodiripad's demise in Kerala politics. Till the end, he championed both the party's and the Leftist cause in Kerala and remained the quintessential people's leader. The election memories he left behind are many. In the state's first-ever bypoll in 1958, he brought in the one-and-only MGR to campaign for the Left. With MGR was a then unknown boy who would sing at campaign meetings. He later went on to be known as the legendary Ilayaraja. In 2015, he led the Left battle against KM Mani in the assembly. Even in the 2019 by-election—his final political outing—VS was in his element, unleashing a scathing attack on political opponents. Though a leader with limited formal education, he stood out from his peers for his political wisdom, which led him to take up a slew of people's issues—be it environmental issues like Pooyamkutty, or issues related to women's safety. People saw in him their saviour. Someone who was patient enough to lend an ear to their woes, a politician who was never reluctant to take up their causes, an Opposition within his own party, a leader of the masses. Patient listener who was open to new ideas His once close associates clearly remember how VS took up various causes like the free software movement at a time when such concepts were unheard of in Kerala. "In fact, I had met a couple of senior Left leaders at the time, and none of them were even ready to listen. That's when one of them—obviously to get rid of me—directed me to VS, who was then the Opposition Leader. I was given only five minutes to explain and was obviously worried as to how to explain in such a short period. VS was sitting in his office at Cantonment House. He gave me a patient hearing and kept jotting on a brown cover. Once I finished, he asked me to repeat everything slowly. I was sweating profusely. I repeated everything in the same order. "He kept on asking me whether I was exaggerating. He finally realised its immense significance, and could sense the politics behind it. He then asked me to come up with a statement. He told me, 'Only the truth must be told, but that doesn't necessarily mean a narration of mere facts'. This was a rare quality among politicians. It's surprising how he was able to grasp the politics of free software. At a time when even youngsters were unable to comprehend, VS immediately grasped its core concept," VK Sasidharan once told The New Indian Express. Later during his Chief Ministerial tenure too, VS actively took up the free software movement and even shared a dais with Richard Stallman, the world-renowned American free software movement activist. 'How will you profit, if you gain the world, but lose your soul?' How VS took on the late Kerala Congress supremo KM Mani in the assembly over the bar bribery scam is a lesson in itself for political aspirants. It was on March 10, 2015—just two days before the notorious Assembly bedlam—that VS tore into Mani in the Assembly, quoting from the Holy Bible: "Mr Mani, there will come a time when verses in the Bible will come true. I can't even imagine Mani rotting in hell's eternal fire, surrounded by deadly worms." He even had the audacity to read aloud from the Gospel of Matthew for Mani's benefit. Unleashing a barrage of vitriolic humour on the hapless minister, Achuthanandan solemnly quoted from the Holy Bible. "Aren't Mani, Oommen Chandy and PC George all believers? Aren't they well-versed with the Bible? Let me quote from the Gospel of Matthew: How will a man profit, if he gains the whole world, but loses his soul? - Chapter 16: Verse 26", before staging a walkout. Mani couldn't be blamed for losing his cool and terming Achuthanandan 'Antichrist'. Soul-searching leader who was CPM's biggest crowd-puller Though VS chose to be the voice of dissent within the party, he simultaneously managed to remain its most reliable soldier. A scathing internal critic, he was yet its biggest crowd-puller. A soul-searching leader, who would put his party in a spot, he was yet the one who would also come to its rescue. No wonder Achuthanandan would be remembered as a study in contrast. A revolutionary Marxist. Having said that, it wouldn't be right if we forget to say that his party—the CPI(M)—never gave up on him. VS may have nurtured political ambitions, but never at the cost of his convictions—be it political or personal—a rare characteristic that made him a true-blood comrade! Undoubtedly one of the greatest mass leaders the state ever had, frenzied masses hung on to his every word, relishing his adept feints, pointed barbs and striking analogies—all rolled out in his quintessential colloquial style. The silence and emptiness he leaves behind is numbing.
New Indian Express
a day ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
VS Achuthanandan: Comrade of century
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: End of 1990s. The E K Nayanar-led Left government was in power in Kerala. It was around the time Pinarayi Vijayan was set for his first tenure as CPM state secretary. A section of leaders was eyeing a new political combine—to get the Indian Union Muslim League into the LDF fold, with an eye on cementing a long-term rule for the Left front in the state. Informal talks between senior leaders were held at varying levels. Several possibilities were discussed. But one question kept bothering them - who would tell VS? The veteran was LDF convener then, and the most powerful leader who virtually called the shots both within the party and the front. IUML leader Kutty Ahammed Kutty who shared a warm rapport with VS was handed the task. Kutty conveyed the idea to VS but not before prefacing it with a request that VS should not be in a hurry to nip the proposal in the bud. VS heard him through, and without batting an eyelid, pronounced his judgement that is now part of state political lore: 'Kutty, it is not yet time for the Congress to die in Kerala!' A deeply insightful statement especially relevant in the current political scenario. Ignoring short-term political gains, the far-sighted Marxist batted for a line that till date underscores how both the Left and the Congress remain relevant in their fight against the saffron front in Kerala's political landscape. To VS, it was simple logic. A UDF minus the IUML would naturally weaken the Congress. And in no time, Hindutva forces would rush in to occupy the vacant political space. Though a leader without much formal education, VS always stood out from his peers for his innate political acumen. Velikkakath Sankaran Achuthanandan, who passed away on Monday, remains an unparallelled Communist, the biggest crowd puller in recent times, last of the old-school Marxists and one of the greatest mass leaders Kerala has ever seen.
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Comrade of century
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: End of 1990s. The E K Nayanar-led Left government was in power in Kerala. It was around the time Pinarayi Vijayan was set for his first tenure as CPM state secretary. A section of leaders was eyeing a new political combine—to get the Indian Union Muslim League into the LDF fold, with an eye on cementing a long-term rule for the Left front in the state. Informal talks between senior leaders were held at varying levels. Several possibilities were discussed. But one question kept bothering them - who would tell VS? The veteran was LDF convener then, and the most powerful leader who virtually called the shots both within the party and the front. IUML leader Kutty Ahammed Kutty who shared a warm rapport with VS was handed the task. Kutty conveyed the idea to VS but not before prefacing it with a request that VS should not be in a hurry to nip the proposal in the bud. VS heard him through, and without batting an eyelid, pronounced his judgement that is now part of state political lore: 'Kutty, it is not yet time for the Congress to die in Kerala!' A deeply insightful statement especially relevant in the current political scenario. Ignoring short-term political gains, the far-sighted Marxist batted for a line that till date underscores how both the Left and the Congress remain relevant in their fight against the saffron front in Kerala's political landscape. To VS, it was simple logic. A UDF minus the IUML would naturally weaken the Congress. And in no time, Hindutva forces would rush in to occupy the vacant political space. Though a leader without much formal education, VS always stood out from his peers for his innate political acumen. Velikkakath Sankaran Achuthanandan, who passed away on Monday, remains an unparallelled Communist, the biggest crowd puller in recent times, last of the old-school Marxists and one of the greatest mass leaders Kerala has ever seen.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
V S Achuthanandan, and a generation raised on memes
I was 18 when V S Achuthanandan walked into our college for the students' union inauguration. The cheers and slogans that erupted weren't just from the auditorium. It moved through corridors and stairwells, out into the open blocks, like a signal. There was an unmistakable recognition in the way the space and the people responded to his presence. He was 93 or 94 then. Still upright, still lucid, still speaking the kind of politics that didn't need translating. He had just led the Left to power in Kerala, not as a figurehead, but as its most relatable face. What struck me that day wasn't his age or his memory or his stature. It was the immediacy of his relevance. Here was someone who carried the long arc of Kerala's political history since the freedom movement and still knew how to speak to a generation shaped by memes and migration. He wasn't trying to perform a connection. He was the connection. What made V S Achuthanandan resonate with a generation raised on cynicism was his credibility. For Millennials and the Gen Z, who grew up amid scam seasons, police violence, climate anxiety, and communal flare ups, VS stood as someone whose politics never had to be explained away. You didn't have to look for footnotes. There was no doublespeak, no strategic silence. Even when his own party, the CPI(M), tried to sideline him, the youth stayed tuned, because he still sounded like he believed politics could mean something. Take his stance on environmental justice. Long before 'climate politics' became campus vocabulary, Achuthanandan's interventions on the Mullaperiyar dam, Munnar encroachments and against the use of the insecticide endosulfan showed how power must answer to people, not the other way around. For a generation that has grown up watching both private capital and the state extract with impunity, his firmness on these fronts, even when inconvenient to the party, landed as a lesson: Being on the Left isn't about posturing, it's about accountability. He didn't need to invoke youth to impress the young. He didn't overuse the word 'progressive.' But when VS publicly stood up against moral policing, spoke against land mafias, or took on communal forces with surgical precision, young people didn't need explanations. His political instinct mirrored their own disgust at status quo hypocrisy and the feeling of being gaslit by institutions that were supposed to protect you. He was a signal that even in high office, you could still dissent. It helped that he never took the moral high ground to chastise the young. Unlike most political veterans, he didn't claim to be 'above' them. He met them where they were. That's why campuses welcomed him with thundering cheers, not as a mascot of the past, but as someone who still mattered. In an age of forced positivity and online branding, VS's appeal was almost rebellious. He did smile, just not always in time for the camera. And yet, he lit up timelines. Even his silences were studied. In a state where political doublespeak is often defended as strategy, his restraint was radical. He was slow to praise, firm when critical, and resorted to theatrics only when it was necessary. The youth, who have seen politics become performance art, sensed that difference. This was a man who didn't need to go viral to remain visible. His presence was enough. The stillness was political. Above all, it was his clarity that held attention. He didn't offer convoluted justifications for difficult decisions. He drew lines clearly, calmly, and in public. Whether it was his position on the SNC-Lavalin corruption case, taking on party heavyweights like Pinarayi Vijayan or the way he repeatedly stood up for the rights of Dalits and minorities, you knew where he stood. There was no campaign of damage control to be run the day after. For a generation exhausted by political grey zones, this kind of clarity felt like an anchor. He also taught an entire generation how to hold institutions accountable from within. For those who grew up seeing how dissent is criminalised and whistleblowers punished, Achuthanandan's career was instructive. He didn't merely rebel when pushed to the margins, he stayed in the ring. He used the system against itself when needed, but never abandoned the idea that public office must serve public good. That lesson outlasts any ideological label. VS didn't trend. He didn't tweet. He didn't rebrand. And yet, he remained in memes, in chants, in election rallies, in college murals. For young people often made to feel like their politics are naïve, Achuthanandan was proof that idealism wasn't a phase. It was a discipline. And it could outlive power, outlast pettiness, and resist erasure. This farewell must leave us restless. Not because V S Achuthanandan didn't live long enough, but because few in public life today carry forward the courage to respond to the moment without needing a script — something that he made look so effortless.
