Published Sep 11, 2026 | 12:16 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 11, 2026 | 12:16 PM
Pinarayi Vijayan and VD Satheesan
The CPI(M) in Keralam is clear on the Exalogic-CMRL case. It will protect Pinarayi Vijayan and, by extension, his family. However, the Congress party, it seems, is in a dilemma.
Chief Minister VD Satheesan said the government will not dismiss the Enforcement Directorate’s request to register a case against the Opposition Leader, his daughter T Veena, and son-in-law PA Mohammed Riyas.
“There is no politics. The government will legally examine the report,” Satheesan told reporters after a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, 9 September.
For the UDF, Satheesan’s statement is significant.
However, UDF sources said the UDF leaders are not on the same page on the issue. While some leaders were wary of the political backlash and the CPI(M)’s likely allegation of a “BJP-Congress nexus” behind the central agency’s action, others argued that the government could not be seen as shielding Vijayan.
Satheesan’s statement appeared to have settled at least one aspect of that internal debate: the government is unlikely to offer political protection to Vijayan if the legal process warranted further action.
That, however, does not mean the process will necessarily move at full speed.
Also Read: CPI(M) hits out at ED over directive to Kerala Police
Sources said the UDF has an understanding that the government may examine the ED report, seek legal advice, and scrutinise the allegations before taking the next procedural step. The government can potentially take time over the process, but it cannot be seen to obstruct an investigation merely because the accused is a major CPI(M) leader.
And Satheesan is not the only power centre whose position matters.
Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala is expected to adopt a more cautious approach. His calculation, according to sources, is not limited to the immediate political advantage of acting against the CPI(M). The long-term consequences of setting such a precedent also matter.
For Chennithala, the issue is therefore unlikely to be reduced to the argument that the police should act whenever the law demands it. His position could consequently be less aggressive than Satheesan’s, even if there is no disagreement on the need for a lawful examination of the ED’s allegations.
The UDF’s allies are adding another layer of uncertainty.
The IUML has so far maintained silence on the issue. Minister PK Kunhalikutty has not publicly taken a position, at a time when relations between sections of the IUML and Congress are already showing signs of strain on other political questions.
The RSP, too, is yet to present a unified political position. Minister Shibu Baby John has remained silent, while its MP from Kollam, NK Premachandran, has been more vocal. Within the RSP, the two leaders appear to be operating from different political spaces after the Assembly elections, although the differences have not developed into an open confrontation.
The CPI(M), meanwhile, is preparing for a very different battle.
Also Read: ED seeks FIR against ex-CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Veena, Riyas
The party is expected to defend Vijayan politically and legally, particularly because Vijayan remains one of the Left’s most prominent national leaders. The CPI(M)’s extended State Committee meeting in Kozhikode, culminating in a major rally at Kozhikode Beach on 15 September, could become an important political platform for the party to communicate its line to the cadre and prepare them for any escalation.
The bigger uncertainty, however, lies in what the ED’s probe could eventually uncover.
Political circles in Keralam are closely watching the contents of the alleged diary maintained by Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) managing director Sasidharan Kartha. Speculation suggests the names, if any, in the diary may extend beyond Vijayan and his family.
At the same time, there is no established evidence that any particular political leader, other than those already named in the case, figures in it.
Yet, the speculation itself has become politically significant.
Financial dealings and political-business networks are hardly new phenomena in Keralam politics, and leaders across parties are conscious that an investigation that expands beyond Vijayan could have consequences far beyond the CPI(M). If more names emerge, the issue could quickly shift from a Keralam-specific political confrontation to a wider national controversy.
That is why the UDF’s dilemma is not simply whether to register an FIR.
The government has to balance legal procedure against the possibility of political retaliation, while senior leaders and allies have to calculate what happens if the investigation widens.
Meanwhile, intelligence agencies are also closely monitoring the political temperature. Sources say an intelligence assessment is being prepared on the likely areas where CPI(M) protests could intensify and where additional security arrangements may be required if the government proceeds.
So, while Satheesan has publicly drawn a clear line — the government will examine the ED’s allegations and will not reject them merely because they came from the central agency — the political battle surrounding the case is only beginning.
The real question inside the UDF is no longer simply whether the government can act against Vijayan.
It is how far the government can go, how quickly it can move and what happens if the investigation does not stop with Vijayan.
According to CPI sources, the agency deliberately waited until after the Assembly elections and adopted a slower, steadier approach.
”They were very sure that if any action was taken against Vijayan while he was still the Chief Minister, the CPI(M) could easily defend him by saying that the ED was being used as a political weapon,” the source said.
The attack on ED officials in Thiruvananthapuram, similar to the incidents in West Bengal, also changed the course of the investigation, the source said. Even ED officials reportedly did not have a complete picture of the developments.
After ED Director Rahul Navin visited the Kochi unit, officials were instructed to keep the matter completely secret.
”They simply waited for Vijayan to step down from the Chief Minister’s chair,” the source said.
According to sources, the CPI(M)’s Keralam unit is now also looking towards INDIA bloc parties and Left leaders in other states for support on the issue.
Debanjan Dey, an SFI leader from West Bengal, told South First that the Modi government was using the ED as a political tool to target opposition leaders.
”The ED is a political tool of Modi to silence the Opposition. In Pinarayi Vijayan’s case also, they are looking for political benefit, and we Left will definitely raise our voice against this,” he said.
However, senior West Bengal CPI(M) leader Samik Lahiri took a more cautious position.
Speaking to South First, he said the Keralam CPI(M) should deal with the matter and declined to comment further.
K Kanagaraj, a CPI(M) state secretariat member from Tamil Nadu, said the party would stand by Vijayan and questioned whether sufficient evidence supported the allegations.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s 2017 dismissal of a plea seeking a probe into the alleged Sahara diaries case involving Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kanagaraj said allegations alone were not enough and that evidence was crucial.
He said the case against Vijayan was similar to the action taken against Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren, alleging that the ED was being used to silence a strong Left leader and tarnish the Left’s image nationally.
”Every leader has this privilege. There should be evidence before the court. In Pinarayi Vijayan’s case too, they are trying to silence a strong Left leader and tarnish the Left’s image in the country. Tamil Nadu CPI(M) will stand with Pinarayi Vijayan, and we will protest louder than at the Thiruvananthapuram party office raid last time. No one can silence the Left voice in the country,” he said.
