The unfamiliar image of a Left leader full-page, and in some cases two-page, newspaper advertisements, created a flutter with the Opposition taking digs at the Left and social media going abuzz about the "changing" Left.
The red front page advertisements– showing Marxist Pinarayi Vijayan ahead of being sworn-in as Kerala chief minister– in national dailies on Wednesday morning raised eyebrows. This was not a leader of BJP, Congress or AAP, but that of the CPM which had always spurned personality cult.
The unfamiliar image of a Left leader full-page, and in some cases two-page, newspaper advertisements, created a flutter with the Opposition taking digs at the Left and social media going abuzz about the "changing" Left.
With Vijayan's smiling image and a tagline saying "committed to turn Kerala into a truly God's own country," it said the Pinarayi Vijayan government is committed to keep its promises. The advertisement was put out by the Public Relations Department of the state government, and not the party.
CPM leaders played it down saying it was a government adverstisement. However, its ally, CPI expressed reservations about projection of an individual instead of the LDF. "This gives the impression that a personality cult is being built up. People voted for LDF and not just one person. It could have been an LDF ad and it was not necessary to spend so much money on it," said CPI general secretary Sudhakar Reddy.
The BJP, which has opened its account in the state but was hoping to wrest more votes from the Left, made the most of the opportunity to take on the CPM. "Looks like CPM is moving away from its ideology. It is following the footsteps of those it criticised,"said BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.
BJP leader R Balashankar took to twitter to pick on the CPM. "How market savvy CPM has become to give 2pg color ads in all national dailies on Pinarayi swearing in."
In another tweet, he said "committed to turn Kerala into a truly God's own country: CPM ad. So, comrades believe in god?"
A television channel quoted CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury as saying that it is a "normal thing" for any new government which is about to form and replace the old one.
The ad underlines the Pinarayi-centric strategy that the party has pursued in the run-up to the elections over the past six months. While VS Achuthanandan, Pinarayi's bete noire in the CPM, did often steal the limelight, the party has set the record straight. Pinarayi, sworn in as chief minister later in the day, is likely to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, when he is in the Capital to attend his party's two-day politburo meeting.
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