Binoy Viswam continues as CPI Kerala chief after Alappuzha state conference

ALAPPUZHA: The controversies, criticisms, and parallel moves raised during the district conferences have finally settled. Binoy Viswam was unanimously elected as the CPI state secretary at the Alappuzha state conference. However, the state council witnessed some drama. Meenankal Kumar walked out openly expressing his dissatisfaction after being excluded from the council.

The conference elected a 103-member state council, 11 candidate members, and a nine-member control commission.

After the district conferences came to an end, a section of the party had tried to project K. Prakash Babu as secretary, but he declined. In the state conference, senior leaders from the former Kanam faction—such as ministers K. Rajan, P. Prasad, MP P. Santosh Kumar, and P.P. Suneer—extended their support to Binoy Viswam. V.S. Sunil Kumar and P.S. Supal, who were close to K.E. Ismail, also opposed any contest, which cleared the way for Binoy Viswam.

Following the death of Kanam Rajendran, Binoy Viswam had taken charge as secretary on December 10, 2023.

At the conference, Sathyan Mokeri proposed Binoy Viswam’s name, seconded by Idukki district secretary Saleem Kumar. Party general secretary D. Raja announced his election.

District-level discontent
Many senior leaders were excluded from the state council due to dissatisfaction among district leaderships. From Thiruvananthapuram, AITUC district secretary Meenankal Kumar and president Vettukadu Soloman were left out. Former AISF state secretary Shubesh Sudhakar from Kottayam, K.K. Sivaraman from Idukki, and MLA G.S. Jayalal from Kollam were also excluded. On the other hand, K.M. Dinkaran, who had courted controversy with a leaked phone call criticising the state secretary, and Kamala Sadanandan found a place in the council.

Although the party list included a representative from the women’s wing as the 19th member of the state centre, no name was given. It is expected to be E.S. Bijimol.