THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Close on the heels of a major reshuffle in its secretariat and state committee, the CPM is gearing up for more elaborate restructuring at the district levels. With extended district committee meetings coming up, there are indications of organisational revamp in at least six districts, especially in Kannur, Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, where the party suffered major setbacks.
Speculations are rife that a couple of district secretaries including K K Ragesh of Kannur, V Joy of Thiruvananthapuram and S Sudevan of Kollam could be replaced. A decision on the changes would be taken at the respective extended district meetings.
Naturally, the most keenly watched revamp would be Kannur where the state and district leaderships drew a lot of flak after losing its strongholds of Thaliparamba and Payyanur. Allegations had come up against the leadership for its poor candidate selection, lack of minority candidates, coupled with failure to address internal issues flagged by local leaders.
Irrespective of whether secretary K K Ragesh is replaced or not, restructuring of the district leadership is more or less certain. There’s strong criticism within the party against Ragesh for his lapses in addressing regional issues related to fund collection in Payyannoor. With P Jayarajan’s entry into the state secretariat altering the power dynamics in Kannur, the changes would depend on various factors.
In Thiruvananthapuram where the LDF seat tally came down to 5 from the previous 13, there’s strong resentment against the party leadership. The BJP winning two seats here is also being viewed seriously.
The two-day extended meet from September 30 is expected to deliberate upon the party’s failure. District secretary V Joy too had drawn flak at the recently held extended state meeting. Here too chances of revamp are likely.
The poor performance in Kollam — where the LDF won just 2 seats in 2026 against a total of 11 in 2021 — has shown that the party lost its mass base among the working class. Similarly in Kozhikode the front won just one seat in 2026 against the previous 11. These districts are also awaiting reshuffle depending on the nature of discussions at the meeting.
The state secretariat has decided that the extended meets would be monitored by three teams — led by state secretary M V Govindan, Politburo members Pinarayi Vijayan and A Vijayaraghavan — with each team supervising four district meets each. In addition to district committee members, four from each area committee — including a secretary and one woman leader — would attend the extended meet.
“A decision has been taken to bring youngsters to the top, and address regional level issues and report the same to higher-ups,” said a district leader.