How CPI(M) is taking on BJP in Kerala amid Congress’s ‘vote chori’ blitzkrieg

On Tuesday (August 12) afternoon, Vipin Wilson didn’t look for excuses. The CPI(M) worker from Thrissur had just been arrested for pouring black oil over the nameboard of BJP MP Suresh Gopi’s office, and he made it clear he had no regrets.

Also read: Political storm rages in Kerala's Thrissur amid Rahul's 'vote chori' campaign

“He did not win from here, he stole the victory,” Wilson told reporters. “This is my protest against that immoral rigging of the election. We are a democracy, and I cannot demolish mosques or attack nuns as they do. What I did was my humble protest.”

CPI(M)-BJP clashes

Wilson’s act and words captured the CPI(M)’s current political mood, combative, unapologetic, and directly targeting the BJP as both an ideological threat and a party that, according to it, has won power through "illegitimate means”. The confrontation comes in the wake of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s explosive allegations that the BJP secured key seats through “vote chori” (vote theft), manipulation of electoral rolls, and votes. In Kerala, those accusations have zeroed in on Thrissur, where Gopi registered a high-profile win.

Also read: EC to Rahul over 'vote chori' claims: Give proof, don't use 'dirty phrases'

The CPI(M) is seizing the moment to project itself as the sharper, more forceful opponent of the BJP. This comes amid a renewed Congress charge that the Left has been “soft-pedalling” on Hindutva, a line revived with the clear aim of consolidating minority voters, a constituency that has largely stood with the CPI(M) since the Babri Masjid demolition, except for the IUML’s core base.

On Tuesday, CPI(M) workers in Thrissur marched to Gopi’s camp office to protest the “vote chori” allegations, during which Wilson carried out the blackening act. Later, BJP supporters mounted a retaliatory march to the CPI(M) district committee office — which, notably, is not an office of power — sparking clashes between the two sides.

Jayarajan’s public attack on Sadanandan

Wilson’s act was dramatic enough to draw television coverage but non-violent enough to avoid alienating centrist voters. It set the tone for the day, serving as a symbolic protest aimed at putting the BJP on the defensive and forcing a public response.

Also read: Vote theft row: Rahul shows why Opposition Leader's role is vital

While tensions were flaring in Thrissur, the CPI(M) was also locking horns with the BJP in its historic stronghold of Kannur. District secretary M V Jayarajan launched a public attack on BJP MP C Sadanandan, comparing him to Hindutva leader Pragya Singh Thakur and questioning whether a person facing a criminal case should occupy a parliamentary seat. Jayarajan further warned that no one should think they can imprison CPI(M) workers and then move about freely simply because they have been elected as an MP. He was speaking at a political meeting organised by the CPI(M) to discuss the imprisonment of eight party workers accused of attempting to murder Sadanandan in the mid-90s. (The Supreme Court had upheld their conviction, forcing them to return to prison after being out on bail.)

Sadanandan hit back with a combative Facebook post, asserting that the CPI(M) leader’s “army” would not be enough to stop his political rise.

Also read: Vote theft controversy: Why the Supreme Court must step in

These mirrored incidents — in Thrissur and Kannur — suggest more than spontaneous local reactions. They indicate a coordinated push by the CPI(M) to return to visible, street-level confrontation with the BJP. Rahul’s allegations have given the party a ready-made national frame for electoral manipulation, which in Kerala aligns neatly with the controversy surrounding Thrissur. The Left is using this to counter Congress’s attempts to claim the anti-Hindutva mantle and to ensure that BJP’s symbolic victories, like Gopi’s win, do not translate into a narrative of growing legitimacy.

Will it be a sustained campaign from CPI(MI)?

However, the Congress is trying to train its guns on the CPI(M) and the LDF over election manipulation. “What Rahul Gandhi exposed was vote fraud under the BJP’s rule, but in Kerala, the same fraud occurred under the LDF government. The BJP and the CPI(M) are engaging in the same kind of subversion to capture power, and what we see here is a picture of them aiding each other in the process,” said Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Ramesh Chennithala.

While Thrissur and Kannur are the current flashpoints, CPI(M) leaders have indicated that similar protests could surface wherever the BJP has a presence in Kerala.

The CPI(M) has a problem with the Congress raising its pitch against the BJP on par with the Left, as it now feels the need to prove its own anti-Hindutva mettle. In the recent incident in Chhattisgarh involving the harassment of nuns — where the Congress was also part of the protest — the CPI(M) took a sharply confrontational stance. The state secretary even criticised the Catholic Bishop who had thanked the BJP, calling him a man of double standards. He did not back down from his stance, clarifying it by saying, “When the RSS-BJP classify minorities and communists as internal enemies, thanking Sangh leaders and sharing sweets with them is nothing but double standards.”

From a splash of black oil in Thrissur to a political war cry in Kannur, the CPI(M) is signalling not a shift in long-term philosophy but a revival in tactical intensity. In the wake of Rahul’s “vote chori” expose and under pressure from the Congress’s renewed pitch to minority voters, the party is making a deliberate choice to meet the BJP head-on on Kerala’s streets. Whether this becomes a sustained campaign or a sharp, temporary counter-narrative will become clear in the months ahead. For now, the CPI(M) is back in confrontation mode, and it wants the whole state to see it.