Kollam: The 24th state conference of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) concluded here Sunday with the party deciding to retain MV Govindan as the state secretary. The 71-year-old Govindan would lead the party for the next three crucial years that will witness elections to local bodies this year and the Assembly elections in May 2026
Govindan, who is also a member of the CPI(M) Polit Bureau, had taken over as state secretary on August 28, 2022, after the late Kodiyeri Balakrishnan stepped down due to health concerns.
Govindan had earlier served as the state minister for Local Self-Governments and Excise in the second Left Democratic Front (LDF) government from 2021 to 2022.
The state conference also elected 17 members to the CPM state secretariat. Former Health Minister KK Shailaja will be the only woman in the secretariat. The conference removed three members AK Balan, PK Sreemathi and Aanavoor Nagappan from the secretary position.
The convention also elected 89 members to the State committee including 13 women leaders and 17 new faces. Prominent among them are minister R Bindu and MP John Britas.
The concluding day witnessed a grand rally and the participation of top CPM leaders, including Politburo members Ashok Dhawale, Subhashini Ali, Brinda Karat, and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
The hallmark of the meeting was the vision document, ‘A New Way for Nava Kerala’ of Pinarayi Vijayan which proposed bringing about a paradigm shift towards capitalism in the CPM's political line after over two-and-a-half decades. The proposals also underline a new vision and political position of the largest communist party in the country.
