Kerala CPI-M's Kannur lobby suffers setback as K.K. Jayachandran gets key CITU post

Kottayam (Kerala): In a setback to the Kannur lobby in the CPI-M's Kerala unit, state Secretariat member K.K. Jayachandran was elected the new CITU state General Secretary on Monday, defeating expectations that Kannur strongman and close aide of Pinarayi Vijayan, M.V. Jayarajan, would get the key post.

Senior party leader and former minister V. Sivankutty was elected Treasurer, while T.P. Ramakrishnan will continue as CITU state President.

The outcome is being seen as another indication of the declining influence of Vijayan and the Kannur lobby in the party following the Left Democratic Front's severe defeat in the April Assembly elections.

Jayarajan had been widely tipped for the post, but the CITU leadership was reportedly against allowing Kannur to consolidate its hold over both the party and the trade union.

The CPI-M had also insisted that the CITU General Secretary should be a member of its state secretariat.

Outgoing Secretary Elamaram Kareem proposed Jayachandran's name at the CPI-M-CITU faction meeting, paving the way for his election.

The leadership change comes amid unusually sharp criticism of the previous Pinarayi Vijayan government's performance at the three-day CITU state conference in Kottayam.

Several speakers questioned the way the second Vijayan government (2021-26) handled labour issues and failed to address the concerns of workers.

Former Industries Minister P. Rajeeve also came under criticism during the discussions.

The report presented by Kareem was particularly critical of the previous government.

It said workers had not received the attention they deserved and that the government had failed to ensure their rightful benefits.

Even welfare fund benefits due to workers were delayed or denied, the report pointed out.

The working class had not received what it expected from a Left government, it said.

The report also linked the government's failure to address workers' grievances to the Left's electoral setback in April.

CITU All-India Vice President Tapan Sen was also present for the conference.

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