KANNUR: Within hours after the cremation of Communist Marxist Party (CMP) general secretary M V Raghavan, the central committees of the two factions of the party held separate meetings here and declared the new general secretaries. The central committee of the CMP, aligned with the United Democratic Front (UDF), unanimously elected C P John as the new general secretary, while the pro-Left Democratic Front (LDF) faction declared K R Aravindakshan as its general secretary. CMP central committee member P K Raveendran announced the election of C P John as the new general secretary at a press conference at Yatri Nivas here on Monday. Almost simultaneously, the central committee of the pro-LDF faction of the CMP was convened at the Government Guest House here, which elected K R Aravindakshan as its general secretary.
The central committee also decided to observe 10 days of mourning over the demise of M V Raghavan, a press release said. The urgency shown in electing the new general secretaries is seen as an indicatorthat the tussle between the two CMPs is going to intensify in the absence of the formidable M V Raghavan, whose legacy would be fervently fought for in the days ahead. After the central committee meeting, C P John justified the hurry in electing the new general secretary and said, “No Communist party remains without a general secretary. The death of the general secretary is a political incident for a Communist party.” On claiming the legacy of M V Raghavan, even by his political rivals, John said that the true legacy of the former was the formation of a Communist party that stood by a new Communist ideology based on democratic values. “It is a welcome trend that more and more parties are claiming his legacy. But they should understand that M V Raghavan was a staunch critic of social fascism and Stalinism,” he said, taking a dig at his former comrades who rubbed shoulders with the CPM.
When asked whether the ongoing fight for the institutions founded by Raghavan, including the Pappinissery Visha Chikilsa Kendram, would be intensified in the future, John said that such institutions had nothing to do with the party, even though the party workers were part of the governing bodies.