‘Captain’ to ‘new Kerala architect’: Pinarayi Vijayan steps up 2026 run

Stepping up its 2026 poll preparations, the CPI(M), in its public outreach, has been showcasing Vijayan’s image with a tagline “Thudarum (will continue)”.

On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of his government 2.0, which was marked on Tuesday, Vijayan, 79, has been touring all 14 districts of the state, meeting people from different walks of life. In his interactions with them, he has been highlighting his government’s various schemes and initiatives while responding to their queries and suggestions.

Last Saturday, Vijayan held a meeting in Thiruvananthapuram with several professionals from different sectors to hear their views on development.

The CPI(M) stalwart met prominent persons from the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities on Sunday in Palakkad. On Monday, Vijayan had a meeting with leading faces from various cultural fields in Thrissur.

Along with these interactions, the CM has also been holding high-level regional meetings in different parts of the state, attended by Cabinet ministers and senior officials, to review the progress of various projects.

In all recent public meetings of the CPI(M) and its allies, their leaders have been making a common refrain that a “Nava Kerala (new Kerala)” has risen during the Vijayan regime.

In the 2021 Assembly polls, the CPI(M)’s campaign had projected Vijayan as “Kerala’s Captain” for steering the state during some major crises including the 2018 floods and 2020-21 Covid pandemic. The incumbent LDF returned to power in the polls smoothly, bagging 99 seats of 140 as against the UDF’s 40.

Now, aiming to pull off a hat-trick in the face of a resurgent Congress, the CPI(M) has flagged the development issue as its key plank, building a campaign around Kerala “before and after 2016 (the year when the Vijayan government 1.0 was formed)” while projecting Vijayan as the leader “who delivered many development projects reckoned as impossible over the years”.

On May 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Rs 8,800-crore Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport in Kerala. Speaking at the function there, Vijayan called the port’s commissioning “Kerala’s dream come true”, saying “what was deemed impossible once has now become a reality after decades of uncertainty”.

Last week, addressing an LDF rally in Thrissur, Vijayan also played up the same theme. “The creation of new Kerala is not a concept, it is a reality. Mega projects, which had been abandoned during the previous UDF regime, had been executed,’’ he claimed, referring to projects including the National Highway widening, GAIL pipeline and the Edamon-Kochi power transmission that, he added, gained momentum after the LDF government took charge nine years ago.

Although Vijayan’s first stint as the CM was hit by various alleged scams including the 2020 gold smuggling case, his second tenure has not seen any major scandal so far.

In the Kerala CPI(M), Vijayan is still considered by many as “the final word” on organisational matters too. The party has made it clear that he will again spearhead the LDF’s campaign in the upcoming polls.

Vijayan’s task is cut out as the LDF is set to face a formidable challenge from the UDF. In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the UDF bagged 18 seats out of 20 as against just one seat of the LDF, with the BJP managing to win its first-ever seat in the state.

During the CPI(M)’s 24th Party Congress in Madurai last month, the party gave Vijayan an exemption from the 75-year age limit norm, naming him as a member of the Politburo as well as the Central Committee.

Following his election as the new CPI(M) general secretary then, M A Baby, when asked if Vijayan would lead the party in the 2026 Kerala polls, told reporters: “Pinarayi Vijayan now is the leader of the Left Front in Kerala. He is the Chief Minister. Vijayan naturally will lead the Left Front in terms of its political and organisational campaign. Why are you discussing with such curiosity now the question of who will be the Chief Minister in the event we retain power? When it comes, we will decide. We will make a good decision.”