Communist-led Kerala has finally joined the PM SHRI Scheme, accepting ₹1,500 crore in education grants from the Centre. The move comes despite strong resistance from within the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and months of opposition to the National Education Policy (NEP).
The decision marks a clear shift for the state government, which had long criticized the NEP as being “against federal principles.” Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan himself had once declared that the policy “poses a threat to the country.”
However, with Kerala now facing severe financial stress and growing pressure ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, the ideological wall appears to have crumbled before economic reality.
The move highlights a growing trend, where pragmatism is replacing Political Posturing, even in the country’s last surviving bastion of communism. In the end, it seems money, not Marxism, has the final say.
