THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A staunch loyalist of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, A Vijayaraghavan is a man of simple demeanour and is one of the most approachable among senior leaders of the CPM.
His uninhibited style of conversation has often put the party on the back foot, though. Many consider his controversial remark against Ramya Haridas was the single major factor behind her sterling win from Alathur in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
His revelation that the party was aware of late Kerala Congress (M) chairman and finance minister KM Mani’s "innocence" in the bar scam backfired on the CPM which was struggling hard to convince the masses about the induction of Jose K Mani-led KC(M) faction into the LDF.
In June 2018, Vijayaraghavan, a member of the CPM central committee, replaced Vaikom Viswan as the LDF convenor. He is also the general secretary of the All India Agricultural Workers Union.
He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Palakkad in 1989. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha twice. Hailing from Malappuram, Alampadan Vijayaraghavan has been active in politics from his student days. He is a BA rank holder and also holds a law degree.
He was the former president of the Students Federation of India. 64-year-old Vijayaraghavan is the second secretary of the CPM after A K Gopalan who has never been a member of the Kerala Assembly.