KOTTAYAM: KJ Thomas struck a hat-trick by becoming the secretary of the CPM Kottayam district committee for a third consecutive time on Saturday.
A confidant of the official faction, K J Thomas was first elected to the post in 2005. He became secretary for the second time in 2008.
A native of Kootickal, Thomas became president of Kootickal panchayat in 1979. He was elected to the State Assembly in 1987 from Kanjirappally. He has also worked as Kanjirapally area secretary. Thomas is also the leader of the MRF employees union and High Range Estate employees association. He is also a member of the CPM state committee.
The district meeting also elected 22 representatives to the state conference.
Unanimity was found in electing five new faces to the committee of 35 members, including the secretary. The new members are P Shanavas (Kanjirappally), V Jayaprakash (Ettumanoor), Prof R Narendranath (Vazhoor), Thankappan P M (Kaduthuruthy) and Rema Mohan (Poonjar).The four outgoing members are V R Bhaskaran, Kanam Ramakrishnan Nair (Vazhoor), E T Chellappan (Ettumanoor) and E J Samuel (Changanassery).
Bhaskaran is also a state committee member.The fifth seat was vacant due to the death of K P Sugunan, a district secretariat member.