CM Raveendran not in Pinarayi Vijayan's personal staff, ending 4-decade association

Thiruvananthapuram: CM Raveendran, who served on Pinarayi Vijayan's personal staff throughout his tenure as both a minister and Chief Minister, will not be part of his team now that Pinarayi has become the Leader of the Opposition. The government has approved the new list of personal staff members, with CP Pramod, a member of the CPM's Palakkad district committee, appointed as the Private Secretary to Leader of the Opposition.

Pramod had earlier served as the Private Secretary to AK Balan when he was a minister and was the CPM candidate from the Palakkad Assembly constituency in the 2021 Assembly elections.

Raveendran had been serving as the Additional Private Secretary to the Chief Minister. While the personal staff of ministers from the first Pinarayi government were replaced when the second government assumed office, Raveendran retained his position. He had also been part of Pinarayi Vijayan's staff during his tenure as Kerala's Electricity Minister.

Raveendran first came to the AKG Centre in Thiruvananthapuram to assist PV Kunjikannan when he became the Left Democratic Front Convener. Over the following four decades, he served on the personal staff of several senior CPM leaders who held ministerial positions.

He was also part of the staff of VS Achuthanandan when he was Leader of the Opposition, and later served with Kodiyeri Balakrishnan during his ministerial tenure. Raveendran occupied a key position in the Chief Minister's Office and was regarded as a trusted party functionary.

During the first Pinarayi government, he was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering investigation. He was also embroiled in several controversies over alleged benami transactions linked to the Uralungal Labour Contract Co-operative Society.

With the United Democratic Front returning to power and Pinarayi Vijayan assuming the role of Leader of the Opposition, Raveendran's four-decade-long association with the Secretariat has now come to an end.