'KK Ragesh is an amul baby, Kannur district committee should be dissolved'; Calls grow within CPM for K K Shailaja to return to leadership role

KASARGOD: Sharp criticism was raised against the Kannur district leadership during the CPM Thrikkaripur Area Committee meeting. Leaders at the meeting warned that the party would face decline if the current district committee was not dissolved. Strong criticism was also directed at Kannur district secretary KK Ragesh.

According to the discussion in the meeting, organisational issues in Payyannur were one of the main reasons behind the party’s defeat in Thrikkaripur. Some members criticised KK Ragesh, accusing him of rising in the party through the support of senior leaders. There was also a call to boycott programmes attended by CPM state secretary MV Govindan. Members demanded that P Jayarajan and KK Shailaja should return to the party's leadership front.

Criticism has also been emerging from the CPM area committee meetings in Kozhikode. Leaders said that controversial remarks made by Pinarayi Vijayan against the Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had negatively affected the party during the election period. The meeting observed that such statements should have been avoided during the campaign.

Some members also said that the party may not return to power if Pinarayi Vijayan continues as Opposition Leader. There was criticism over fielding PK Shyamala in Taliparamba and TP Ramakrishnan in Perambra. The meeting also expressed the opinion that the party would not have faced such a setback if KK Shailaja had been projected as the Chief Ministerial candidate.