CPM district meet in Pathanamthitta likely to be stormy

TIRUVANTHAPURAM: CPM Pathanamthitta district conference, scheduled to begin at Thiruvalla on Friday, may turn out to be a forum for severe criticism against district leadership. Sources in the party said that disputes on local issues, among senior leaders, may lead to fiery debates in the conference.
The Perinad area conference and Vaypore local conference held earlier had witnessed serious issues.Senior leader P S Mohanan had objected the inclusion of a few members in the new area committee and walked out of Perinad area conference. Adding to the confusion among cadres, a few local level leaders are gearing up to leave the party and join the CPI during the district conference.
One of the major issues that will determine the course of debate in the district conference will be CPM's defeat in the Konni constituency in 2016 assembly election. While the LDF could win four out of five constituencies in the district, Konni was retained by Congress leader Adoor Prakash. The CPM candidate R Sanal Kumar put up a brave fight but had to concede defeat. A section of party leaders complained that non-cooperation by local leaders led to Sanal's defeat. It is learnt that the the district secretary's report which will be presented in the conference on Friday carries a detailed portion on what went wrong in Konni.
Thiruvalla is hosting CPM conference after 30 years and the party is gearing up to make the event a spectacular one. Senior leader and former district secretary K Ananthagopan hoisted the flag on Thursday evening. CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan will inaugurate the conference. He will attend the conference all the three days and reply to debates on December 31.
Sources said there won't be any major changes in the district committee and incumbent secretary K P Udayabhanu will continue in the post. As many as 235 delegates and 32 district committee members will attend the three-day conference.