KOLLAM: In all likelihood, M V Govindan will continue to be the official face of the Kerala CPM. The 24th CPM state conference, set to conclude in Kollam on Sunday, is likely to officially elect the 71-year-old former excise minister as its state secretary.
It would be the first time Govindan is getting elected at the party conference. He had taken over as state secretary after incumbent Kodiyeri Balakrishnan stepped down due to ill health in August 2022. Govindan was soon inducted into the politburo too.
The ideological face of the Kerala party, the Kannur leader is, however, yet to come out of Pinarayi’s shadow. With two elections approaching, Govindan will have a tough task ahead.
A slew of senior leaders including A K Balan, P K Sreemathy, Anavoor Nagappan, Gopi Kottamurickal, P Nandakumar, N R Balan and M K Kannan are expected to be out of the state committee due to the 75-year-age cap. Similarly, a few leaders could be dropped on health grounds and based on other aspects. Kollam leaders Susan Kody or K Rajagopal, too, may face the axe.
There are indications that more youngsters and women would be inducted into the state panel this time around. DYFI secretary V K Sanoj, president V Waseef are being considered. Jaick C Thomas from Kottayam and SFI’s K Anusree from Kannur are some of the other youngsters being considered.
Siby Devadarshan and P R Muraleedharan are among the hopefuls from Ernakulam, while N Sukanya, Reji Zachariah, and X Earnest are among other probable names who could be considered for elevation into the state committee.
Of the six first-time district secretaries, only Raju Abraham of Pathanamthitta is currently part of the state committee. The other five -- M Rajagopal (Kasaragod), V P Anil (Malappuram), K Rafique (Wayanad), K V Abdul Khader (Thrissur) and M Mehboob (Kozhikode) are expected to be included in the committee.
It’s not clear whether the party secretariat will be formed on Sunday. What remains to be seen is whether the party will keep away senior leader E P Jayarajan, who was recently removed as LDF convener from the secretariat. Being a central committee member, EP would still be able to attend secretariat meetings. The names doing the rounds for new secretariat members include minister M B Rajesh, Kannur district secretary M V Jayarajan, CM’s political secretary P Sasi, central committee member C S Sujatha and T N Seema.