A poster depicting the Kerala Chief Minister as being equivalent to god has been doing the rounds on social media, triggering a controversy. The poster on a flex board kept near a Vishnu temple in Malappuram shows the full-length image of a smiling Pinarayi Vijayan with a raised fist – a symbol of communism and political solidarity. Underneath the image is the two-line caption: “You asked who is god, The people answered that it is the one who gives them food”. Even more prominently the poster title says, “Kerala’s god.”

The poster is believed to have come up at the entrance of the temple in Vaikathur, Valanchery of Malappuram, after the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front came to power a second time this May and Pinarayi Vijayan was once again sworn in as Chief Minister. After the temple committee objected to the poster, it was moved a little distance away, next to another flex board, reports The New Indian Express.

The other flex board is also a pro-CPI(M) one depicting the CM and his cabinet of new Ministers who were sworn in this May. A Times of India report says that the flex board claims that places, where prominent temples are located, have all ‘turned red’ after the last Assembly election, and asks what more proof was needed to show that gods are communist.

CPI(M) leadership has however denied erecting the posters. There is no information as to who has put the flex boards up.

However, the Pinarayi is “Kerala’s god” poster has attracted some amount of criticism. On Facebook, Congress leader VT Balram shared the image and wrote a post, calling the CM ‘Pachari Vijayan’ (Raw rice Vijayan), since the poster depicted him as the one giving food to the people of Kerala. The poster has alluded to the Kerala government’s distribution of free monthly ration kits during the COVID-19 pandemic.