THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CPM Wayanad District Conference witnessed late twist and drama after DYFI district secretary K Rafeeq became the new secretary overthrowing popular leader P Gagarin. With the support of 21 out of 27 members of the new district committee, the voting procedure was avoided and K Rafeeq was appointed unanimously. 37-year-old Rafeeq is the youngest in the current batch of CPM district secretaries.

While the state leadership was careful to avoid competition turmoil at the branch level, Wayanad couldn’t help but turn up the heat for a high-level competition. The current secretaries were elected unopposed in the Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram district conferences. The state leadership is concerned that the Wayanad model will be repeated in the upcoming eleven district conferences.

The list of new district committee members was prepared on Sunday night after the completion of the two-day representative conference. The meeting was attended by leaders such as central committee members EP Jayarajan, PK Sreemathy, Elamaram Karim, P. Sathidevi, state committee members minister O R Kelu, CK Saseendran and Kannur district secretary MV Jayarajan.

On Monday, the list of new district committee members was presented at the conference. Soon, the atmosphere changed after P Gagarin and K Rafeeq turned up the heat for an unusual competition. Instead of trying to dissuade Rafeeq, the opinion of the new members was sought. The intervention of leaders from Kannur was crucial. Criticism was raised against Gagarin in the district conference.

Minding the political happenings, the CPM leadership also favoured a Muslim face in the Malabar region in Wayanad. This decision also came in handy for Rafeeq.