The Last Communist
- Ananth Krishna
- Jul 23
- 7 min read
Remembering VS Achuthanandan
This is a post written as a tribute to VS Achuthandan, the former Chief Minister of Kerala who passed away at 101 on 21st July, 2025. VS, or Achu Mamman, was an important figure for me personally. A small additional note above and over the obituary I co-authored for Swarajya.
“Kanne Karale VSee!” (Dearest, Most Beloved VS!) is the chant that would most likely define what Vellikakath Sankaran Achuthanandan (popularly ‘VS’) would be for Malayalis. For me, he was “Achu Mamman” (Achu Uncle), my first real embodiment of what a politician - a good politician was. I think my father grew up admiring EK Nayanar - and I remember the day he died in 2004.
That is likely my very first politician-related memory. But VS was the first politician I followed, and understood. My father’s liking for Nayanar could never compare, of course. Nayanar had even stayed in hiding in my father’s home during the Emergency. I have no personal anecdote or incident of meeting VS. In fact, I am almost certain that I’ve never seen him in real life. But that never took away my admiration for him. VS was a great politician. He was heartfelt, he had a sharp tongue and a good sense of humour. More than that, he was a rebel. He took stances that were common sense but, strictly speaking, went against party discipline.
Growing up, experiencing the Pinarayi-VS fights, I was an avowed votary and supporter of VS. I admired him. I thought that he was correct on most of the issues he took a stand on. He was someone, as a communist sympathiser (like I was) that you could point to and say “ Look, this man is right, I support him”.
I remember that I once had a conversation with an adult (I was 13-14 years old) about his politics, and after much prodding he admitted the only politician he admired was VS. Pinarayi, to any communist sympathiser, was a villain who put his own nefarious connections and interests over those of the party. And that was my impression for the longest time. But I remember that I had a conversation with a card-carrying member of the Party (CPM) sometime between 2011-15, who pointed out that VS’s positions directly harmed and hampered the party publicly for his own benefit.
At the moment, I rejected that notion. I had that conversation again sometime after the 2016 elections, where he reiterated this point. It stuck out to me then, and honestly, it did not leave me for a while. That feeling was again revived when I wrote [Co-authored] the piece for Swarajya. And I really wanted to write that VS’s actions were, from the perspective of a party ‘official’, quite unforgivable. He defied party discipline, acted as if he were bigger than the party and its positions. For me, as a person who values organisational discipline, it seems now that VS was wrong to do what he did. Yes, no doubt that Pinarayi crossed lines and did things that were objectionable to VS and his thoughts, but he had to value party discipline above and beyond that. Maybe this is a defeatist streak to say so and VS if he had acquiesced to PV’s demands, would have ‘lost’ the fight long back. But at this point, I feel that I cannot reconcile both. VS was a flawed character if one were to view things from the “Party” perspective. Having worked and observed a lot of things from the other side of things, I do think my opinion has changed. He has been, without a doubt, a great asset to the party.
In his popularity, he has likely only AKG and EK Nayanar to rival in terms of the raw emotions he inspired when he was a politician. Much like those two, VS was never subject to Social Media torment. He spent the early 2010s as a leader of opposition, and his conflict with Pinarayi Vijayan (PV) had the public rooting for him more than PV, who represented machine politics. I wrote in the Swarajya piece that VS “may be the last great populist Kerala will see, at least for a while.” But I think we will never see a politician like him again. A populist who is admired across party lines.
In many ways, VS became such an iconic figure because PV existed on the other side within the same movement. PV provided the contrast and the spoiler that each other needed for a good part of their political life - a good decade and more, in which both rose to the top of their political lives. That they represent two different streams, forms, and regions despite being from the same analogous community made the contrast more palpable.
PV, for all his outright success - he is the only CM to ever win twice successively- has never been adored the way Nayanar or VS was. Or on the other side of the aisle, the way Karunakaran was. He, by character, is what in Malayalam you can describe as a കർക്കശക്കാരൻ or a disciplinarian. His persona and attitude are never amenable to the way VS’s was. I never knew this growing up, but VS was apparently Stalinist in his approach and disagreed (and passionately so, apparently) with EMS. EMS of course was unquestioned during his time, but VS had (apparently) passionately disagreed on EMS taking positions not officially endorsed by the party. When VS became that figure, of course, a good section of the mid-level and almost the whole of the state leadership was there to oppose him. EMS of course was too big to criticise by any communist publicly. VS was not so intrinsic, yet his criticism by the topmost official in the form of PV was also not well received beyond a point among the masses.
The communist movement has long been obsessed with comparing figures and their roles with each other. Mao, for example, actively sought to weed out those in the second and third ring leadership who would be like ‘Khurschev’ and denounce a foundational leader (Stalin). MN Govindan Nair was known as ‘Kerala Khurschev’ for his strategising (and nothing to do with denouncing anyone). It was in the same spirit that VS was described as being the ‘Fidel Castro’ of Kerala, but in all honesty, that comparison, much like many other attempts to compare Indian politicians to foreign politicians, is non-sensical. VS was VS. He was the VS of Kerala and not Fidel, Deng, or Brezhnev.
I can recall many debates and comversations in school and otherwise, where I adoringly referred to him as Achu Mamman. He was the most immediate political figure that I admired.The first one whose speeches I remember. His departing, however I slice or dice it at this point, is personal. Having grown up sympathising with CPM, he was that iconic figure who had my loyalty on some level. Not that it means anything now. Many persons may point to how disagreeable Communism is, or the sort of vapid and completely unjustifiable things VS has done ( the Sandeep Unnikrishnan Controversy, or his remarks on Cow in the Hindu religion) and many more. All I can really say is that I didn’t choose the sympathies I have; they are an inevitable part of who I am because of the family I grew up in. You pointing out those things that are very much reprehensible now (or then) will not change my views. He was a politician of a movement that I disagree with, but grew up admiring, understanding and sympathising. None of this can change for me. Besides, it is beside the point of understanding who VS was. You can continue making political points and yet admire the man and the legacy for what he was. He showed humanity in many cases, though he faced the party’s criticism, he stood up for what he thought was right at the cost of himself.
Maybe we can view many of the things as done by a cynical politician. Yet, I cannot seem to reconcile to that. Maybe it is due to the inherent bias I have as a lapsed communist.
One of the most iconic moments for me was VS calling Rahul Gandhi an ‘Amul Puthran’ (Amul Baby)
How can you hate this man? He saw what the young prince was all those years back.
If you know Malayalam, you’d know what sort of amusing character he was. Much like Nayanar, VS had a sharp tongue (though Nayanar’s humour sense and timing was superior)
He had a way of speaking, conversing with the audience that was engaging and uniquely his own. I remember how VS mimicry dominated comedy shows growing up. He was part of my childhood. Much like Pokémon, Beyblade and all the rest. That is weird to say, which child grows up on politics? I did.
VS was the first CM I remember. I don’t remember Antony as CM or the latter half of Chandy filling that 2001-06 term. I remember all the cabinet members of Achu Mamman’s cabinet. S Sharma was the Fisheries Minister. Kareem was the Industries Minister. Premachandran was Water Minister. Binoy was Forest Minister, Baby was Education. Balan was the Electricity minister. Sreemathi was water, PJ Joseph was PWD Minister. Paloli was LSG Minister. I could go on and on. He and his cabinet are intrinsically connected to my political awareness.
VS is part of the way I viewed and understood politics. He may be gone, but he will not be forgotten. Least of all, by me.
Special Thanks to Aishwarya Ajayan and Eilin Maria Baiju for their suggestions and inputs.
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