The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] has convened an “emergency’‘ leadership meeting on Sunday and Monday.
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and Polit Bureau member Prakash Karat will attend the State secretariat and State committee meeting on consecutive days, fuelling speculation that some momentous decisions are in the offing.
The upcoming closed-door conference has triggered widespread speculation that the party might nominate a senior leader as a stand-in for CPI(M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan till he returns from medical leave.
The February CPI(M) State conference in Kochi had elected Mr. Balakrishnan as party secretary for a second term. He has nearly three years left in office.
Polit Bureau member A. Vijayaraghavan, MP, had surrogated for Mr. Balakrishnan when the latter went to the U.S. for treatment last year. At the time, Mr. Vijayaraghavan was both Left Democratic Front (LDF) convener and CPI(M) State secretary in-charge.
Most of the goings-on in the CPI(M) in the run-up to the "extraordinary" leadership conclave remain secret and largely in the realm of conjecture. Nevertheless, by some accounts, the CPI(M)'s choice as a temporary substitute for Mr. Balakrishnan could be Mr. Vijayaraghavan, Left Democratic Front convener E.P. Jayarajan or former Minister and central secretariat member A.K. Balan. Speculation is rife that the CPI(M) might introduce a new arrangement to make the daily functioning of the party centre more responsive and robust.
In early August, the CPI(M) State secretariat and State committee held a five-day sitting to prepare the ground for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. The leadership meeting may also calibrate CPI(M) 's response to the government's dispute with Governor Arif Mohammed Khan over a host of issues, including university administration and the University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
The Bill purportedly seeks to limit the Governor's power as Chancellor to appoint Vice Chancellors. The CPI(M) had accused Mr. Khan of using the gubernatorial office as a political pulpit to promote the BJP's cause in Kerala. It felt Mr. Khan had taken a page from the playbook of BJP-appointed Governors in non-BJP ruled States, including Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and West Bengal. The fishers agitation at Vizhinjam is reportedly on the party's agenda.
