MP Veerendra Kumar was a leader who explored many paths in Kerala politics with his powerful words and well-respected stand. In Kerala politics, there is nobody like Veerendra Kumar who became a great personality above the party and symbol with the title of a socialist leader. He continued to oppose communalism when he was a part of the Janata Party.
As he always believed in socialist unity and took a strong left-front stand, he became a spokesperson of the political front in the national level which does not belong to either Congress or BJP. He was well-respected as a person who never hurts the mind of those who are opposing his party and views.
The political ideology which was formed during the freedom struggle inspired Veerendra Kumar to become a political leader. From the comfort zones to the adversities, he explored every path in life.
The socialist ideology propagated by leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia influenced Veerendra Kumar to follow left-front politics. With this, Veerendra Kumar also turned into a great leader like AKG and EMS in Kerala politics.
He did not hesitate to face any challenge in his political life. George Fernandez, a socialist revolutionary, reached Wayanad to hide out due to this. Veerendra Kumar declared his political stand courageously by bringing the present Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan for a speech in Kerala when he quit Indian National Congress due to differences of opinion over the Muslim Personal Law Bill.
Even when the socialist parties faded out in India, Veerendra Kumar continued to shine as the socialist leader. He proved at every phase that neither the party nor the symbol matter in politics and declared that the leader’s stand is important. Recently, he quit JDU as expressing his dissent after his close friend Nitish Kumar decided to align with BJP.
When former prime minister HD Deve Gowda’s son Kumaraswamy allied with BJP to form the government, Veerendra Kumar decided to end his support to him. During all these times of political issues, he continued to make the public aware on the problems in future. He also brought to light the issues related to treaties like GATT.
Veerendra Kumar showed the power of socialism in the Plachimada protest proving that drinking water is also a political subject. Veerendra Kumar is the leader who reminds that there are many ways to reach your goal in politics. The history of socialist parties in Kerala also proves this fact.
The articles he penned during his last days pointed out that it is time to be careful in each political step. Apart from reminding us of the importance of socialist unity and growth of left parties in India, he strived his best for this purpose. Veerendra Kumar is not a leader who vanished in the midway, but he is the one who became the light leading to the future.
