The CPI(M) State secretariat has chosen A. Vijayaraghavan as the new convener of the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) State committee.
Mr. Vijayaraghavan replaces Vaikom Viswan, who had sought to be relieved of the responsibility owing to poor health.
Mr. Vijayaraghavan, member of the CPI(M) central committee, had been elected once to the Lok Sabha and twice to the Rajya Sabha. He is currently general secretary of the All India Agricultural Workers’ Union.
Talking to reporters after being chosen for the job and attending a meeting of the LDF State committee here on Friday, Mr. Vijayaraghavan said his endeavour would be take the alliance forward as a cohesive unit.
The LDF State committee decided to allot the two winnable seats in the upcoming Rajya Sabha election to the CPI(M) and CPI.
Although almost all the constituents of the alliance staked claim to the second Rajya Sabha seat, the collective decision at the end of the day was to allot it to the CPI as agreed earlier.
Three Rajya Sabha seats would fall vacant on July 1. The seats are currently held by Rajya Sabha deputy chairman P.J. Kurien, Joy Abraham (Kerala Congress-M) and C.P. Narayanan (CPI-M).
Notification for elections to fill the vacancies would be issued on June 4 and elections, if necessary, held on June 21.
