Thiruvananthapuram: The CPM central leadership on Saturday said that the state unit will take a decision on the successor of E.P. Jayarajan who resigned from Pinarayi Vijayan Government following allegations of nepotism.
The CPM politburo which is scheduled to meet in Delhi next week will discuss the developments related to resignation issue. Since Jayarajan and P.K. Sreemathy are central committee members, the politburo is likely to have a preliminary discussion on their role in the recent appointment controversy which led to the ouster of Jayarajan.
The central leadership believes that both the leaders will have to be made accountable for their lapses which they had already admitted. The appointments of close relatives of senior party leaders including ministers had brought a bad name to the LDF Government and the central leaders feel that immediate corrective measures need to be adopted for to check nepotism in future.
While the central leadership has stated that the new minister would be decided by the state unit of the party, speculations are rife about Jayarajan’s successor. If the state unit sticks to the formula of getting a minister from Kannur then James Mathew would be the front runner and T.V. Rajesh may also be in the reckoning.
If the party decides to go for representation from Malabar then A Pradeep Kumar from Kozhikode will be the front runner. Veteran leader from Idukki M.M. Mony who is government chief whip could be considered only if the party leadership decides to give representation to the district in the Cabinet. Suresh Kurup, Raju Abraham and S Sarma are also likely to be considered.
Sources said the decision on successor is likely to get delayed as the vigilance probe into the controversial appointments has just begun. But with the chief minister already holding a number of portfolios and the government already having announced a host of projects in the industrial sector, the LDF leadership would prefer to have an independent minister at the earliest.
