MALAPPURAM: Kanam Rajendran was re-elected as the state secretary of Communist Party of India (CPI) for a second term on Sunday. He was elected unanimously at the first meeting of the newly- elected 96-member state council here on the concluding day of the state conference of the party. Mr Rajendran was nominated by party national general secretary S. Sudhakar Reddy, which was agreed by all. While 18 members were removed from former 89-member state council, 25 new members were inducted to the new council.
E.S. Bijimol, who was demoted to district council earlier, made a comeback to the state council. The party has also reconstituted the nine-member control commission inducting six new members. Ten leaders have been selected as candidate members. Addressing media after the election, Mr Rajendran said that a larger secular democratic Left platform was the need of the hour to resist the Sangh Parivar and the BJP. “The Assembly election results in Tripura calls for such a larger political platform. CPI is going ahead with strengthening and broadening the politics of resistancee,” Mr Rajendran said. “It is a great responsibility to lead a Left party, particularly at a time when the Left is facing various threats.”
There would be differences of opinion between CPI and the CPM, he said. “What keeps us united is our collective election manifesto. We will never oppose it. We are the closest mainstream parties,” Mr Rajendran said. He made it clear that CPI state conference has not discussed the cabinet rejig and added that criticism against the performance of CPI ministers would be examined. The state conference concluded with mass rally in Malappuram on Sunday evening.
