CPI(M) Partners With Gautam Adani For Kerala’s Vizhinjam Port Project, Overlooking Historical Opposition

More loyal than the king, that is the banner the CPI(M)-led government in Kerala was seen holding, with visible pride, during the commissioning of the Rs 8,867 crore Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport last Friday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Hailing Gautam Adani as his government’s “partner”, Minister for Kerala Ports VN Vasavan has proved once again that the Marxist party has no qualms about its volte-face on their historic positions on projects like the Vizhinjam port, which they used to mindlessly oppose till not too long ago.

It is one thing to take political advantage of India’s maiden entry as a transhipment hub, but to create a narrative that obliterates all historic records of the Vizhinjam port’s origin takes some doing. That is what the Pinarayi government sought to do on Friday by its sheer gracelessness in refusing to acknowledge the role played by the preceding governments, especially the one led by Oommen Chandy that paved the way for the retendering of the project and the entry of Gautam Adani.

Modi was quick to pounce on the windfall by hailing the partnership. Undoubtedly, he is going to dangle this self-acknowledged status in Kerala whenever the Congress-led INDIA, especially Rahul Gandhi, makes a broadside against his friend Adani.

Surely, MA Baby, the general secretary of CPI(M), will struggle in his new role in the INDIA bloc in Delhi to defend his comrades back home, who were visibly preening in the company of their new-found partner last Friday.

The consummate politician that he is, Modi also did not hesitate to taunt the Congress directly by saying the presence of CM Vijayan and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on the dais would lead to the loss of sleep for many in the INDIA alliance. Modi even chided the translator for totally botching up the none-too-subtle message he had conveyed to his political opponents. He smiled but was not amused.

True, it is a tripartite public-private partnership, with the Kerala government investing Rs 5595 crore, the central government chipping in Rs 817.8 crore as viability gap funding and Rs 795 crore by way of interest-free capital investment loan.

Adani Ports, the concessionaire who has the right to operate the port for 40 years, has invested Rs 2454 crore. The second phase, slated to be completed by 2028 at a cost of Rs 9,000 crore, will be borne entirely by the concessionaire.

Clearly, it is a moot question whether Gautam Adani technically makes the cut as the Kerala government’s partner. While the central government has never been averse to acknowledging Adani’s role in its larger economic blueprint, it may not be quite as simple either for the LDF or the UDF in Kerala. No wonder the BJP is thrilled, with about a year to go for the Assembly elections.