THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The son of a CPM leader secured the highest marks in the interview for the appointment of the Planning Board chief, but could manage only sixth rank in the final list because of his lower score in the written examination. Sarath V. Raj, son of K. Varadarajan, a former CPM state committee member, former manager of the Deshabhimani Thiruvananthapuram unit and former KSFE chairman, secured the highest marks in the interview.

The interview board, led by Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairman M.R. Baiju, awarded Sarath 23 marks in the interview. He scored 40.62 marks in the written examination.

K. Shyam Krishna, who secured the first rank, scored 59.5 marks in the written examination and 19 marks in the interview. Two candidates received 16 marks each in the interview, while five candidates received 18 marks each. Sarath was among the two candidates who scored 23 marks. Sarath retained sixth rank in the list published on the 9th after revaluation.