The CPM is facing a grassroots-level revolt for democracy in one of its traditional strongholds in north Kerala. The local rebels at Onchiyam, the region that had contributed 10 martyrs towards the Communist movement during its banned days in 1948, have formed the Marxist Party Eramala.Eramala is a village panchayat that falls under Onchiyam area committee in Kozhikode district. Unlike other defiant movements in the CPM, the Marxist Party Eramala has no big names as leaders, but only ordinary workers to shoulder it.The dispute began with the decision of the party district leadership to hand over the presidentship of Eramala village panchayat to Janata Dal (S). The move faced stiff opposition last month. District secretary T P Ramakrishnan, who rushed to Eramala to drive home the point, was waylaid by party workers for three hours at Eramala.Things reached a flashpoint last week when 11 local leaders from Eramala and Onchiyam were expelled from the party, after JD (S) nominee was bestowed with the post of the panchayat president. The expelled leaders took out a massive rally on last Friday. In a couple of days since then, the rebels have proved that they would rule this Communist kingdom. They formed a new outfit, sealed a CPM branch committee office, and opened their office at Orkkatteri, very close to that of the CPM.A noticeable facet of the Onchiyam development was that party workers have overcome the psychological barrier to defy directives from the top. The revolt is likely to be replicated in nearby areas as party workers have become restless. More than 75 per cent of party workers, cutting across factional loyalties, are with the expelled workers, sources said. “If the rebels had not have got massive support from the region, their new office would have been set on fire the very next day,” sources said.“Party leaders seem to be oblivious of the fact that ordinary workers had toiled over the years for the Communist movement in this region. They should not forget that this is a land of martyrs,” says Chandrashekharan, who was expelled from the party. As a leader of the new party, he said that democracy has no place in the CPM.
