When Pinarayi Vijayan’s Skeletons in the Closet Saw the Light After Six Decades: Witnesses Emerged in 2016 Claiming RSS Activist Vadikkal Ramakrishnan Was Murdered by a Young Vijayan with an Axe in 1969

Today, it is widely believed that the streets of Kannur, Kerala, reek of blood — the blood of RSS-BJP and CPM supporters shed over the course of more than 15 years. A factsheet published on the official website of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) states that between 2000 and 2017, several workers from both RSS-BJP and CPM were brutally killed in the name of their parties.

The chaos escalated after the Communist Party secured victory in the 2016 Kerala Assembly election.

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As the ruling CPM-led LDF alliance prepares for the upcoming 2026 Kerala Assembly election, the opposition has reiterated allegations of a possible CPM–RSS deal. However, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s hometown, Kannur, stands as a stark reminder of the violent history between the two groups, who once did not hesitate to kill each other for their respective parties.

One such instance is the brutal murder of Vadikkal Ramakrishnan, an RSS activist, in 1969. What comes as a surprise is that the prime accused in his murder was none other than the current Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan.

When the Congress accused the CPM and RSS-BJP of working together, Vijayan dismissed the allegations outright. He recalled the period during the 1977 election when he was considered a target by the RSS and stated that the CPM was the main opponent of the RSS. Years before the 1977 Assembly election, the murder of Ramakrishnan took place, which is regarded as Kerala’s first political murder.

The incident resurfaced after the CPM’s victory in Kerala in 2016, when Umesh and Balakrishnan, colleagues of the deceased, claimed that they had witnessed the murder of Ramakrishnan. What prevented Umesh from revealing this information for nearly 60 years was nothing but fear.

Murder of Ramakrishnan, Kerala’s first political murder

In 2016, Umesh told Janam TV, “I still remember the face of a young Pinarayi Vijayan, who had an axe with him. There were more than 200 CPI(M) workers in the procession, led by M.V. Rajagopalan, who had come to murder Ramakrishnan.” Umesh and Balakrishnan worked with Ramakrishnan, who was a tailor. “I saw the mob pushing Ramakrishnan’s body into an autorickshaw owned by one Johnny,” recalled Balakrishnan.

Who Murdered Ramakrishnan?

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has long alleged that one of its activists was murdered in 1969. They further claimed that the bloodstained hands behind the killing belonged to the Communist Party. E.M.S. Namboodiripad was serving as the Chief Minister of Deivathinte Swantham Naadu (God’s Own Country) at the time.

He was also the first Chief Minister of the state in 1957, making the Communist Party the first to head a democratically elected government in India. The Marxist rule was allegedly involved in covering up the tracks of those responsible for the murder of Ramakrishnan. An FIR was registered in the name of a young Pinarayi Vijayan and M.V. Rajagopalan, but the crimson red concealed the stains left by Ramakrishnan. Former CPI(M) Kerala State Committee secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan is the son-in-law of Rajagopalan.

The opposition has strongly called out the politically motivated murders in the state, especially in the Kannur district. The fortress held by the Red Party has always been a formidable force in the state. This stronghold once shut its doors to Madhav Sadashivrao Golwalkar, the second Sarsanghchalak (leader) of the RSS. Years ago, when Golwalkar visited the state in 1948 and 1952, his rallies were attacked by CPM supporters.

The rift between the RSS and the CPM is a tale passed down through generations, a tale that has left a stain on the streets, with the death toll rising for years. In 2017, the Kerala Police reported that the death count was around 85 from the CPM and 65 from the RSS between 2000 and 2017. During the same period, nearly 11 workers from the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) were also killed. With Kannur at the center of such political killings, the tension between the two parties has certainly taken a new turn following accusations of a side deal between the CPM and the BJP-RSS.

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