New Vision for Kerala Presented by Pinarayi Vijayan at CPI(M) Meet

Kochi: The state conference of the Communist Party of India(Marxist), the ruling party in Kerala, concluded today in Kochi, reelecting Kodiyeri Balakrishnan as the secretary of its state unit. The conference, which commenced on Tuesday, discussed the functioning of the party and the government based on the organisational report presented by Balakrishnan, who has served as the state secretary since 2015.

At the onset of the left retaining power for the first time in the electoral history of the state, the conference also adopted a vision document presented by Pinarayi Vijayan, the Chief Minister and member of the Politburo of CPI(M). The document, which has not been disclosed yet, expectedly formulates 'a vision to transform Kerala to meet the aspirations of the new generations.'

The conference elected a state committee of 88 members, among which 16 are new-faces to the unit. A 17-member state secretariat, an executive body of the state unit of the party, was also elected from the state committee, including eight new members. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, politburo members Prakash Karat, S Ramachandran Pillai, G Ramakrishnan, and Brinda Karat also attended the conference.

New Generation to the Leadership

The state conference witnessed more youngsters and women elected to the party's state bodies. In the recently concluded district-level conferences, adequate representation was given to women and youth compared to previous conferences. Among the 16 new faces to the state committee, 3 are women, making the number of women in the committee 13.

Similar to the replacement of all ministers in the previous cabinet with new faces in the second tenure of the Vijayan government, several young leaders also made it to the party's state leadership. M Swaraj, Muhammed Riyas, and PK Biju, former leaders of the DYFI and SFI, were elected to the state secretariat. Other young leaders like AN Shamseer, Dr V Sivadasan, AA Rahim, VP Sanu, and Dr Chintha Jerome were included in the state committee.

The conference was inaugurated by Yechury on Tuesday, with veteran trade union leader Anathalavattam Anandan hoisting the red flag. Four hundred delegates and 23 observers participated in the conference held at B Raghavan Nagar(Marine Drive). Forty-one representatives from the delegations participated in the eight-hour-long discussions on the organisational report presented by Balakrishnan. The discussion on the vision document presented by Pinarayi Vijayan went on for 5 hours. The conference elected the state committee on Friday, which in its first meeting elected the state secretary and the secretariat. The conference also elected the state unit's delegation to the Party Congress, the All India conference of the CPI(M), from April 6-10, in Kannur.

Though only the delegates are allowed to attend the conference, thousands visited the conference venue at Marine Drive in Kochi, which also included exhibitions, cultural events, and seminars that presented the left's perspective on contemporary issues. These include party members, sympathisers, students, commoners, and people from different walks of life. The history exhibitions that displayed the birth and growth of the communist movement in Kochi and the cultural fiesta, which included popular, classical, and progressive artistic expressions, were the key attractions among the many. 'Ningalenne Communistakki' (You made me a communist), an iconic play in the history of the communist movement in Kerala, and other plays like 'Ithihasam' based on the life of William Shakespeare were staged at Abhimanyu Nagar(Marine Drive). Party conferences have always been a sense of pride for many people, especially the working class, including peasants and workers.

The valedictory event of the state conference, which usually showcases the cadre-base of the party in the region, was decided to be limited due to the COVID pandemic scenario.