Malappuram district and VS Achuthanandan have strong political connections, stretching from the Malappuram party conference to the big victory in the next niyamasabha election in 2006. When Pinarayi took the party under his wing at the Malappuram party state conference in 2005, many thought that the VS era was over. But the following year, VS ascended to the Chief Minister's chair, turning the same Malappuram district into a 'red fort'.
LDF and CPM had their ever-best performance in Malappuram in 2006, when VS himself led from the front. The LDF won 5 out of 12 seats, and he proved to the official fraction of the party that the League was not necessary in the Front to win Malappuram.
There is only one answer to the question of who was the crowd puller in Malappuram in that election, and that was VS Achuthanandan. VS ended the League's infallibility in Malappuram by winning the Ponnani, Mankada, Kuttipuram, Tirur and Perinthalmanna seats. Amongst those who fell in VS's battle were the prominent League leaders like PK Kunhalikutty, ET Muhammed Basheer and Dr MK Muneer. VS was also the kingmaker who made KT Jaleel win in Kuttippuram and Manjalamkuzhi Ali win in Mankada.
"Thousands of people gathered for all the public meetings he attended in Malappuram. VS created a level of acceptance in Malappuram that perhaps no other leader had ever received. That was a result of the issues he championed, especially women's safety. He also paid special attention to Jaleel's election in Kuttippuram", said CPM Malappuram's former district secretary E N Mohandas to TNIE.
He strongly disagreed with the candidacy of Hussain Randathani from the Ponnani Lok Sabha constituency in 2009 and the party's collaboration with the PDP. Despite losing that Lok Sabha election and knowing that the people would judge his administration, he burst out laughing at the defeat of that alliance in Ponnani.
"VS has always been against contesting elections on temporary political lines. He has adopted a style of openly rejecting such alliances. In the case of the PDP, even though there was unconditional support, he openly questioned it. VS's stance was that people should vote after being convinced of the issues raised by the Communist Party", said former MP and political observer Sebastian Paul to TNIE.
Even though he was constantly engaged in heated verbal arguments with the League leadership, he did not personally take it. When Panakkad Shihab Ali Thangal passed away, VS had come to pay his last respects in person.
VS also played an important role in preserving the Mamangam's relics in Tirunavaya. His government also played a crucial role in the development of Malappuram district. It was during his tenure as Chief Minister that the construction of the Chamravattom Regulator-cum-Bridge, which was thought to never be completed, was completed. Many projects, including the much-anticipated Biyam Regulator-cum-Bridge, the Civil Service Academy and minority coaching centre that gave Ponnani a place in the educational boom, the fishing harbour project, and a package worth a billion for the development of kole fields, were implemented in the district during the VS government's tenure.
