Opinion

Congress and CPI(M) to help each other in corruption case as BJP looks the other way

Both UDF and LDF responses to recent court developments have fuelled claims of a tacit understanding between the two rivals

Kumar Chellappan

October 24, 2026

Both UDF and LDF responses to recent court developments have fuelled claims of a tacit understanding between the two rivals

Kerala’s political ‘match-fixing’ debate returns

The way things are progressing in the CMRL-Exalogic pay-off case proves that the Congress and the CPI(M) in Kerala are playing a political game scripted by the top leadership of these parties for their mutual benefit. The ruling Congress is leading the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the CPI(M) is heading the Left Democratic Front (LDF) opposition. Though outwardly it looks like a tough fight between the Congress and the CPI(M), in reality both parties are treating each other with kid gloves lest they disturb the camaraderie between them outside the state. It is worse than the match-fixing between cricket teams.

The CMRL-Exalogic scam relates to the monthly payoffs made by the sand-mining company to the latter, an IT solutions provider owned and operated by Veena Mohammed Riyaz, the daughter of former chief minister and Marxist strongman Pinarayi Vijayan. The Enforcement Directorate found all the proof needed to corroborate the allegations that the mining company was making payments to Veena’s company as a mark of gratitude to Vijayan, who was the ultimate beneficiary of the deal. The CMRL management had told the ED officials that the payments were made to Exalogic as a token of gratitude for favours received from the LDF-led government.

Following the ED’s handing over of its report to the Kerala government led by the Congress, the unholy and unprincipled alliance between the CPI(M) and the Congress came out into the open. The UDF government led by V D Satheesan asked the Vigilance Department to hold a preliminary probe based on the ED’s findings. But the ED itself questioned the propriety of such an action and asked the Home Department to file an FIR based on the former’s report. Though Vijayan approached the Kerala High Court questioning the legality of filing an FIR based on the ED report, the court quashed his petition. But he got temporary relief from the apex court, which stayed the Vigilance probe and asked the Kerala High Court to take into consideration Vijayan’s pleadings.

This let the cat out of the bag, as both the UDF and the LDF welcomed the Supreme Court order. While Ramesh Chennithala, the Home Minister, claimed that the court order vindicated the stand of the UDF, M V Govindan, the CPI(M) state secretary, congratulated the Supreme Court for upholding the “rule of law”. Interestingly, Govindan echoed the statement made by Chennithala. “The Supreme Court verdict is a vindication of the CPI(M)’s position in this matter,” Govindan said.

The fact is that the Congress and the CPI(M) are working round the clock in Kerala to check the growth of the BJP in the State. There is nothing wrong with the Congress and the Marxists coming together to defeat the BJP. But they could do it openly, as they are doing outside the state, said a veteran political commentator. That would save them a lot of money, as both fronts would need to field only joint candidates against the BJP.

While the Congress is soft-pedalling the CMRL-Exalogic case by delaying any kind of action, the BJP in Kerala is scoring self-goals much to the amusement of the people. Shone George, general secretary of the party, who disclosed the names of more people about whom Sasidharan Kartha, the owner of CMRL, has written in his diary, was censured by the BJP leadership in Kerala for “jumping the gun” because the names of many of the Hindutva party’s own honchos figure in the notebook of CMRL CMD Sasidharan Kartha.

It is time the BJP learnt that the Congress and the Marxists will never allow it to take root in Kerala. The results of all the elections in the state prove beyond doubt that, more than winning the seats they contest, it is the defeat of the BJP that is of paramount importance to these secularist parties. For example, in the Palakkad Assembly constituency, the CPI(M) fielded an active member of the PFI to ensure that the firebrand Sobha Surendran of the BJP was defeated. There are at least two dozen constituencies where the BJP lost because of this match-fixing exercise by the Congress and the CPI(M).

The young leaders of the BJP are demanding the ouster of leaders who have held a monopoly over the party structure since 1980. The cleaning should begin from the top, many of them told this writer. If Operation Clean-Up does not begin at the earliest, the central leadership of the BJP, including the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, would be wasting their precious time campaigning in the state during the 2029 electioneering.

Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

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