The organisational meet of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI-M] was set in motion with branch committee conferences beginning in the district on Wednesday.
These conferences assume significance in the context of the minor factionalism rattling the party in many regions, particularly the rural areas, and growing sympathy among the lower rungs for the Bharatiya Janata Party that came to power at the Centre.
Besides, the party conferences will adhere to the amendment adopted at the 20 Party Congress held in Kozhikode in April 2012 that fixed the tenure of secretaries at all levels to three terms. This means that the incumbent district secretary T.P. Ramakrishnan who completes his three-year term will have to step down. However, the amendment has a provision for the continuation of the secretary for a fourth term, if three-fourths of the members of the respective party conferences vote in his or her favour.
There are 2,410 branch committees, 157 local committees and 16 area committees in the district. As of now there are 37 district committee and nine district secretariat members. The State committee would decide on the number of persons representing the district in the State conference to be held in Alappuzha in February 2015, party sources said.
The local committee and area committee conferences will be held in November and December respectively. The party has decided to conduct the district conference at Vadakara on January 13, 14 and 15, 2015. A Polit Bureau member will take part in the district conference and three State committee members will control the event.
Erosion in voter baseThis time the party has chosen Vadakara for the district conference after it faced an erosion of its voter base, especially after the murder of T.P. Chandrasekharan on May 4, 2012. Sources said that inactive secretaries would have to relinquish their post, thus paving the way for a new crop of leaders at the multi-layered organisational structure. The official faction led by State unit secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has an upper hand in almost all the committees. However, many believe that a new faction is likely to emerge with Mr. Vijayan bowing out.