KANNUR: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s private secretary K K Ragesh, who is considered to be his close confidante, has been elected as the new district secretary of the CPM. Ragesh was selected at a meeting of the CPM district committee attended by Pinarayi Vijayan and state secretary M V Govindan, on Tuesday.
Ragesh was elected as the secretary after M V Jayarajan was elevated to the state secretariat of the party. Born at Kanhirode in Kannur in 1970, he started his political career through the SFI. He was the national president and general secretary of the organisation.
Ragesh was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2015. He is currently the national joint secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha. He unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2009 against Congress leader K Sudhakaran. The names of T V Rajesh and M Prakasan were considered for the post of the district secretary, but finally Ragesh was elected to the post. The district committee meeting also elected a 12-member district secretariat.
Addressing a press conference after the election, Ragesh denied any ‘generation shift’ in the party leadership in Kannur. “There is no issue of such a shift in the party. Ours is a joint effort by all sections,” he said.
The district conference has decided to strengthen the activities of the party in the hilly and coastal areas, he said. “Communalism is trying to set foot in disguised forms even in our strongholds. It is important to expose communalism,” he said. Ragesh said he has already tendered his resignation from the post of CM’s private secretary.
The outgoing district secretary M V Jayarajan, who was also present at the press conference, said there is no need to read other meanings in Ragesh’s election. “The whole process was over within five minutes,” he said while answering a question whether Ragesh was elected to the post considering his proximity with Pinarayi Vijayan.