The State Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] elected Excise Minister M.V. Govindan, MLA, as the party’s new State secretary.
Mr. Govindan succeeds Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who is reportedly travelling to Chennai for treatment. A CPI(M) communique said Mr. Balakrishnan was hard-pressed to discharge his duties as party secretary.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, Polit Bureau members Prakash Karat, M. A. Baby, A Vijayaraghavan and Left Democratic Front (LDF) convenor E.P. Jayarajan attended the meeting.
Earlier, Mr. Vijayan and Mr. Karat had called on Mr. Balakrishnan. Mr. Balakrishnan reportedly argued for a hands-on secretary instead of a surrogate arrangement as in the past.
Mr. Vijayaraghavan had officiated for Mr. Balakrishnan when the latter went on medical leave to the U.S. for treatment in 2021.
A party insider said Mr. Balakrishnan had concurred with the State committee’s decision to elevate Mr. Govindan to the top post.
Mr. Govindan’s election also throws the door open for a Cabinet reshuffle.
Moreover, Mr. Govindan’s election has precipitated an unusual situation where the Chief Minister and CPI(M) State secretary are legislators. Mr. Vijayan and Mr. Govindan are CPI(M) Polit bureau and central committee members, respectively.
An identical situation unfolded in 1998 when Mr. Vijayan resigned as Power Minister in the E.K. Nayanar Cabinet to assume charge as CPI(M) State secretary following the demise of the then incumbent, Chadayan Govindan.
Mr. Govindan ascends to the helm of the CPI(M) in Kerala at a time when the party and ruling front is facing a slew of challenges.
Foremostly, Mr. Govindan will have to steer the CPI(M) through its volatile disputes with Kerala Governor Arif Muhammad Khan over varsity appointments and the University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
By some accounts, the Bill aspires to limit the powers of the Governor as Chancellor of Universities in the selection of vice-chancellors.
Mr. Govindan will need to maintain the apparent synergy between the party and government achieved by Mr. Balakrishnan and Mr. Vijayan.
It will also fall on him to mobilise the party machinery to insulate the government from the opposition’s “recriminatory campaign” against the State’s top political executive and prepare the ground for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
In some measure, Mr. Govindan was a dark horse for the top party post. There was speculation that Mr. Govindan was an unlikely candidate because it would entail a Cabinet reshuffle.
Nevertheless, Mr. Govindan’s name was touted along with those of Mr. Vijayaraghavan, Mr. Jayarajan and former Minister and CPI(M) central secretariat member, A. K. Balan, as likely replacements for Mr. Balakrishnan.
Many in the CPI(M) reckon Mr. Govindan as a Marxist idealogue and theoretician. He has authored at least three books on communist thought and politics, including one on China. Mr. Govindan has also led party classes for CPI(M) cadres.
Mr. Govindan, who goes by the popular label “Govindan Master”, joined the CPI(M) in 1970. He was one of the founding members of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the CPI(M)‘s youth wing. As a DYFI leader, Mr. Govindan had travelled to Moscow to attend an international youth conference in 1986.
The authorities jailed Mr. Govindan for resisting the national emergency. He was elected to the Assembly from the Taliparamba Assembly constituency in 1996, 2001 and 2021. He has also served as CPI(M) district secretary, Kannur, and later, Ernakulam.
Currently, Mr. Govindan is also Minister for Local Self-Government. His wife P. K. Shyamala is former chairperson of the Anthoor Municipality and a district committee member of the CPI(M). They have two sons.
