Kerala - Thrissur   

Thrissur meet an efficacy test for CPI(M)

By Our Staff Reporter

THRISSUR, DEC. 29. The district conference of the CPI(M) beginning at Guruvayur on January 1 will be crucial for the entire State unit of the party as it will be an efficacy test for the various steps taken to contain the much-debated `divisionism' in the party.

Intense factionalism had manifested in Alappuzha and Thrissur during the previous party conferences held in early 2002. The State committee of the party had then dismissed the elected district committees in both Thrissur and Alappuzha, and replaced it with adhoc committees. While M.A. Baby was appointed secretary of the organisational committee in Alappuzha, in Thrissur the mantle had fallen on the firebrand leader from Kannur E.P. Jayarajan.

The last district conference had actually elected K.P. Aravindakshan as the secretary and he was then known to be loyalist of V.S. Achuthanandan. In the 40-member district committee elected in that conference, the Achuthanandan faction had the support of 22 while the rival faction reportedly loyal to Pinarayi Vijayan had 18 members. That conference also witnessed the ouster of K.K. Mamakutty who was known to be a loyalist of Mr. Vijayan and who was the secretary of the district unit for nearly three decades from the district committee. But both Mr. Aravindakshan and Mr. Mamakutty found place in the 13-member adhoc organisational committee headed by Mr. Jayarajan.

Factionalism

Talking to The Hindu here, Mr. Jayarajan said the efforts made by the organisational committee in collaboration with the Central and State leaderships of the party during the last two-and-a-half years had been successful to a great extent in reducing factionalism. ``However we cannot say that divisionism has ended totally. It will take some more time to eliminate it fully,'' he said. Asked whether there was any particular reason for factionalism to get manifested in Thrissur and Alappuzha districts, Mr Jayarajan said: ``This was a tendency that had gripped the party at the State and national levels. The Central leadership had recognised the gravity of the situation before the 17th Party Congress and had taken steps to contain it at the State level itself.''

He said the organisational committee headed by him had taken care to carry all the factions together in the conduct of the party-related events like the national conference of the All India Agricultural Workers Union held in Thrissur in 2003, and the various agitations called by the party against the anti-people policies of the Central and State Governments.

According to Mr. Jayarajan factionalism would not resurface in the ensuing district committee election to be held on the third day of the district conference at Guruvayur.

There are 111 local committees and 1,817 branch committees for the party in the district, and elections to most of them were held unanimously. Similarly, among the 14 area committees, 10 had unanimous committees.

Stand on minorities

He said the organisational committee had taken special care to improve the relationship of the party with the minorities. The party had extended support to the conduct of the Kerala Social Forum (KSF) along with other progressive forces last year.

He said a party school would start soon in the district to equip the cadres and leaders to dwell on the ideological issues facing the party. Mr. Jayarajan expressed confidence that the district unit of the party should be able to hoist a new leadership from here itself. ``The task assigned to me by the party at present will be over with the conduct of the district conference and election of the new district committee.''

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