Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Contest likely at RSP State meet

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A contest appears likely for the post of State secretary of the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) when the party gets down to election of office-bearers at the State conference being held at Kollam from January 6 to 8.

V.P. Ramakrishna Pillai, senior party leader and former Water Resources Minister, is understood to have expressed his desire to contest for the post now being held by T.J. Chandrachoodan. If there is an actual showdown between the two, it may further weaken the party, which has got emaciated thanks to splits in recent times.

Prof. Chandrachoodan, who has given the RSP visibility much beyond its actual strength on the ground through his highly articulate interventions, has been holding office as State secretary since 1999 and has been successful in steering the party out of trouble when faced with dissidence and splits.

He has also won praise for his role as a member of the Left-United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coordination committee on the Indo-U.S. nuclear deal.

The soft-spoken Mr. Pillai had functioned as acting State secretary of the party for short periods during the past few years.

According to party insiders, the argument of Mr. Pillai and his supporters is that Prof. Chandrachoodan should now look to becoming the party general secretary since K. Pankajakshan, who holds the post now, is keeping indifferent health.

However, Mr. Pankajakshan is understood to be strongly in favour of Prof. Chandrachoodan’s continuing as the party State secretary.

Mr. Pillai has been holding office as district secretary of the party in Kollam, the only district where the party can claim some ground support, for several years now.

He has been trying to enlist the support of Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran and party MLA A.A. Aziz, both representing constituencies in Kollam in the Assembly, for his candidature.

Attempts for a consensus have been mounted by some over the past few weeks, but Prof. Chandrachoodan is stated to be determined not to give in without a fight.

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