How ED raids may have handed Pinarayi Vijayan a political lifeline

After the Assembly elections, Vijayan had appeared politically weakened within the party, with the massive verdict against the LDF being interpreted as a mandate against him and his style of functioning as Chief Minister. He also came under attack from middle and grassroots-level cadres during the ongoing election review meetings after the leadership urged workers to speak openly without inhibition.

The ED raided Vijayan’s houses in the state capital and his native village Pinarayi in Kannur, premises linked to daughter Veena’s IT firm in Bengaluru, and the house of his son-in-law Muhammed Riyas in Kozhikode, among other locations. The raids are part of a probe into alleged illegal payments made by Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) to Veena’s now-defunct IT firm Exalogic during Vijayan’s first term as CM.

The development has also enabled the leadership to portray the ED’s case against Vijayan’s daughter as an attack on the party itself. Had the raids targeted only his daughter’s office, the issue might have remained a personal matter for the family. By bringing Vijayan’s residences under the ED scanner, however, the episode has created space for the party to frame it as an assault on the CPI(M).

For Vijayan, the outpouring of support from leaders and cadres over the raids is likely to further consolidate his position within the party. He is now being projected alongside a wider group of Opposition leaders targeted by central agencies under the BJP government.

During the election campaign, the CPI(M) had faced allegations of an understanding with the BJP, but the ED action has now enabled the party to shift the political narrative against the Congress. The CPI(M) has also portrayed the raids as another instance of the BJP allegedly using central agencies to target prominent Opposition leaders across the country, highlighting Vijayan as a key national Opposition figure. The party has drawn parallels with the ED action against AAP leader and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy matter.

One of the first senior leaders to reach Vijayan’s house in Pinarayi village was P Jayarajan, who has been sidelined within the party since Vijayan came to power in 2016. Joining protesting party workers, Jayarajan told the media: “The raid is part of the RSS agenda to destroy the CPI(M). There is a grand design behind the raid, which took place a day after Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi. It is a joint operation of the BJP and the Congress,” he said.

Senior leaders led by party state secretary M V Govindan joined a sit-in protest outside Vijayan’s house in the state capital while the raids were under way. Vijayan and his daughter Veena were at the rented residence when ED officials arrived at the home of one of Kerala’s most influential politicians.

Govindan described the raids on Vijayan as politically motivated. “He is being targeted even for being Veena’s father. This political drama is unfolding a day after Satheesan met the Prime Minister. Many names that figured in the CMRL case are now members of the (Congress-led) UDF camp. The party will organise strong protests by mobilising the people against this political drama,” he said.

Later in the day, Vijayan, in an address to party workers outside his house, said no one should be under the illusion that either he or the CPI(M) could be weakened by the “BJP’s political hunt” using central agencies.

“ED officials have come to the house following instructions from the higher-ups. The raid may have satisfied leaders like Rahul Gandhi. Earlier, he had raised the question why the ED was not raiding me and why the ED was not arresting me. The BJP government at the Centre is carrying out actions against the workers of Opposition parties across the country. Strong protests have emerged from across the country against these actions. No one should be under the illusion that such actions can weaken me. At every stage when the party’s enemies attacked me, I have received wholehearted support from party comrades and the people of the state. Today, too, has proved that there has been no decline in that support.”