Kozhikode (Keralam) | The CPI(M) on Tuesday unveiled a major organisational revamp in Keralam, bringing prominent leaders P Jayarajan, M B Rajesh and V Sivankutty into its state secretariat and giving greater space to younger leaders and women, as the party began a course correction following its crushing defeat in the Assembly elections.
Announcing the decisions after a three-day Extended State Committee meeting here, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said the party had accepted collective responsibility for the poll setback and would now focus on correcting organisational shortcomings, improving its political intervention and ensuring that decisions were actually implemented on the ground.
"The party will go through a process of correcting mistakes in every respect," Govindan said, adding that the State Secretary and the State Committee had accepted responsibility for the defeat.
The organisational changes are among the most visible outcomes of the meeting, which was held against the backdrop of an election result that forced the CPI(M) to take a hard look at its functioning and its connect with people.
P Jayarajan, party strongman in Kannur district, and former ministers M B Rajesh and V Sivankutty will join the CPI(M) state secretariat.
Two existing members, T P Ramakrishnan and T M Thomas Isaac, have been relieved of their responsibilities as secretariat members but will continue to assist the party as Central Committee members. They will remain part of the state centre.
Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas, who is a special invitee to the Central Committee, will also become part of the state centre, while Susan Kody, who was earlier removed from the state committee in connection with a disciplinary issue, will be inducted into the committee again.
The party has also decided to bring nine leaders into the state committee as special invitees, in a move that signals an attempt to widen its organisational base and give greater responsibility to a new generation.
"The party believes that the new generation needs to be given greater responsibility and trained as part of the party's organisational structure," Govindan said.
The list includes leaders associated with the party's student and youth organisations, besides three women -- N Sukanya, O S Ambika and Subaitha Ishaq. Noted poet Prabha Varma is also among those to be inducted as a special invitee.
Govindan made it clear that the changes announced on Tuesday should not be seen as the end of the corrective exercise.
"As I said yesterday, after considering all the discussions, the party will take whatever steps are necessary," he said, when asked about further organisational changes.
The party's emphasis, he said, would now be on collective responsibility with individual responsibilities clearly defined.
"There will be collective decision-making, while individual responsibilities will be clearly defined. As I said earlier, this will be reviewed once every three months, while the State Committee will review it once every six months," Govindan said.
The CPI(M) also acknowledged one of the key criticisms that has dogged its functioning -- that it has often produced policy documents and resolutions without ensuring their effective implementation.
"The problem is not that there is a lack of policy documents; the main issue is that these documents are not being implemented effectively," Govindan said.
The State Committee has decided that the decisions taken at the Extended State Committee meeting should be implemented within three months.
Over the next six months, the party will prepare a clear agenda and action plan for each programme and monitor its implementation through the organisational hierarchy, he said.
The exercise will now move beyond the state leadership. Extended District Committee meetings will be held in all 14 districts, with participation from district committee members, area committee secretaries and three representatives from each area, including at least one woman.
Office-bearers of various class and mass organisations will also participate, making the meetings more broad-based and representative, Govindan said.
The party plans to take the discussions further down to area committees and branches, with state leaders and Central Committee members participating in programmes at the lower levels.
The organisational reset comes with a four-point political action plan-- a stronger fight against communalism, resistance to what the party calls ideological attacks against it, opposition to the policies and actions of the state government, and a struggle against the policies and actions of the central government.
Regarding the Enforcement Directorate probe targeting CPI(M) leaders Pinarayi Vijayan and P A Mohamed Riyas, Govindan accused the central agency of continuing what he described as a campaign against the party and its leaders and workers.
"The party will strongly oppose such attacks against the party and the movement and will fight to defeat them," he said.
He said the party would remain united despite the pressure and allegations surrounding it.
The party also intends to intensify its ideological fight against communalism and the growing influence of right-wing forces in Keralam's social and cultural space.
Govindan said the state committee had identified a significant shift in the state's cultural landscape, with sections of society moving towards the right. The CPI(M), he said, would have to counter this at the cultural level while defending Keralam's secular and progressive traditions.