Who will replace Kodiyeri? Vijayaraghavan, EP, MV Govindan frontrunners
Thiruvananthapuram: In the next couple of hours, CPM in Kerala is likely to witness the emergence of a fresh face to take the office of party state secretary. The CPM state secretariat and state committee will convene to decide the future of Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who is said to have shown intent to step down from his position, citing ill-health. Meanwhile, there are also rumours that Kodiyeri's absence from the office would be temporary until he recovers.
On Sunday, Pinarayi Vijayan and Sitaram Yechury visited Kodiyeri at his flat following the state committee meeting. Kodiyeri will be travelling to Chennai on Monday for further treatment.
Earlier, A Vijayaraghavan briefly took office of state secretary after Kodiyeri went abroad for treatment. Back then, Vijayaraghavan was holding the office of LDF convenor in the state. However, he later moved to New Delhi after getting nominated in Politburo. It is rumoured that he is likely to return to Kerala to take charge as CPM state secretary. Another name under contention is MV Govindan, the incumbent Minister for Local Self Governments and Excise. However, he would have to resign from his office to take charge as state secretary.
AK Balan and LDF convenor EP Jayarajan are next on the list of potential candidates for the post. It is also rumoured that Balan will become LDF convenor if EP Jayarajan is selected as state secretary. Meanwhile, former health minister KK Shailaja is also rumoured to be elevated to the post.
Meanwhile, it was also reported that the state secretariat will also consider reshuffling the state cabinet.
Generally, the state committee meeting is held once every three months. Earlier this month, the state secretariat and committee meeting were convened to discuss matters concerning the party leadership and government. However, emergency meetings were called in the wake of Kodiyeri Balakrishnan informing his intention to step down from the office of state secretary.