For nearly three decades, Pinarayi Vijayan stood as the unquestioned strongman of the CPI(M) in Kerala. Now, the Assembly poll debacle has triggered a wave of dissent against Vijayan. From the time he entered the E.K. Nayanar Cabinet in 1996 and later assumed charge as state secretary in 1998, Vijayan steadily consolidated his authority within the party with an iron grip that few dared to challenge.
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