THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala CPI has become more powerful in the party’s national leadership with eight new faces from the state unit making it to the national council that was elected on the last day of the 24th Party Congress in Vijayawada on Tuesday. Ministers K Rajan, P Prasad and G R Anil, deputy speaker Chittayam Gopakumar, Janayugam editor Rajaji Mathew Thomas, senior leader P P Suneer and T T Jismon – who replaced Mahesh Kakkath as candidate member – are the new inductees.
With this, 16 CPI leaders from Kerala, the highest from a state unit, are part of the 125-member national council. A few veteran leaders were dropped from the council. They included former minister V S Sunil Kumar who was cold-shouldered by the CPI state leadership, K E Ismail who was dropped due to the 75-year cap, and Central Control Commission chairman Pannian Raveendran who chose to step down.
K Prakash Babu and Rajya Sabha MP P Santhosh Kumar from Kerala CPI were inducted in the national executive. State secretary Kanam Rajendran and Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam retained their spot in the national secretariat. The duo is in the CPI national executive too.
Kanam faction has its way
Santhosh Kumar, who had been in the national council as AIYF general secretary, returned to the body. Santhosh and Binoy are nominees of the party centre in the council. Kanam, Babu, E Chandrasekharan, P Vasantham, K P Rajendran and Minister J Chinju Rani will continue in the council as Kerala’s nominees. Former state assistant secretary Sathyan Mokeri has been inducted in the central control commission.
Besides Ismail and Raveendran, Kerala leaders N Anirudhan, T V Balan, C N Jayadevan and N Rajan were also dropped from the CPI national council. Even at the Party Congress, the powerful Kanam faction had its way as it prevented the entry of Sunil Kumar, a prominent face in the Ismail faction, in the national council. Though his name was proposed by T R Ramesh Kumar, the state leadership didn’t back it.