Kannur: MV Jayarajan, the former CPM district secretary and LDF candidate in the Kannur Lok Sabha elections, has dismissed pro-left social media groups, including ‘Porali Shaji’. Jayarajan stated that many groups appearing to be left-wing on social media have been compromised. He added that the party suffered during this election as youngsters solely relied on social media.
Jayarajan contested from the Kannur Lok Sabha constituency and lost to KPCC President K Sudhakaran by 1,08,982 votes. The success of the Congress, even in traditional left strongholds, came as a shock to the CPM.
“The recent trend of youth increasingly relying on social media for information has led to skepticism towards the Left in this election. Party workers and committed leftists must understand one crucial aspect. Many so-called left-leaning groups on social media have been compromised,” Jayarajan said.
“Porali Shaji, Chenkota, and Chengathir—when we see posts favouring the Left regularly in these groups, we tend to trust them. However, the current reality is that such groups are being bought off. Sometimes, the admins of these groups are just one individual. They are being paid off.”
“Once bought, the content of these groups may change drastically from their original stance. Anti-left and anti-CPM sentiments start surfacing. This presents a significant challenge for us in this new digital age,” Jayarajan remarked.
Social media groups like Red Army and Porali Shaji, which post pro-Left content, have contributed to bringing internal slugfest among Left leaders online. Some of these groups recently posted content favoring MV Jayarajan during his conflict with EP Jayarajan.