The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI-M] has done a balancing act to amicably settle dissent in its Kuttiyadi unit by accommodating rebels as well as old members in the newly constituted local committee.
Earlier, the district leadership of the party had disbanded the Kuttiyadi local committee and constituted an ad hoc committee to replace the dismissed body in the wake of open protests before the Assembly polls.
A few members who had been censured for their participation in protests have been retained in the committee. At the same time, none was demoted or excluded from the expanded committee.
DYFI State committee member A.M. Rasheed, who was the convener of the ad hoc committee, has taken charge as secretary of the Kuttiyadi local committee. In the 13-member committee, seven were in the ad hoc committee.
The CPI(M) district leadership had initiated action against local leaders by either expelling or suspending them after the Kuttiyadi seat was offered to the Kerala Congress (M) as per the seat-sharing pact in the LDF. Some of them put up posters and banners in support of incumbent legislator K.P. Kunhammed Kutty.
Branch conferences and local committee meetings have almost concluded in the district. As of now, women are secretaries in 345 of the 2,410 branches and five of the 157 local committees.
Meanwhile, area committee meetings commenced on Wednesday. There are 16 area committees in the district. It remains to be seen whether local-level factionalism witnessed in branch and local committee meetings will come to the fore in area committee meetings.
The district meet of the party will be held in Kozhikode on January 10, 11, and 12.
