The branch conferences of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] began on Sunday amid a series of political issues roiling the party and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.
The conferences are being held in the run-up to the 24th party congress of the CPI(M) scheduled for April 2025. Over 38,000 branch conferences will be held in the State over the coming weeks. The local committee meetings will be completed in October. The area conferences will be held in November and the district-level conferences in December this year.
The CPI(M) State conference is scheduled to be held in Kollam in February 2025. The 24th party congress will be in April 2025 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
The branch meetings are being held close on the heels of E.P. Jayarajan being replaced by senior leader and former Minister T.P. Ramakrishnan as the LDF convener on Saturday.
Other issues
Other issues that are bound to come up at the meetings include the party’s stand that MLA and actor M. Mukesh, who is facing investigation over alleged sexual misdemeanours, need not step down, and the allegations levelled by P.V. Anvar, MLA, against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s political secretary P. Sasi and ADGP (Law and Order) M.R. Ajith Kumar. The LDF government’s performance and the front’s poor showing in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Kerala also are expected to be discussed at the meetings.
