Leadership Team Combining Strength and Experience

Thiruvananthapuram: The LDF candidates representing the CPI(M) are a leadership team with strength and experience to continue the historic mission. Politburo member and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, central committee members K.K. Shailaja, T.P. Ramakrishnan, P. Rajeev, K.N. Balagopal, State Secretariat members V.N. Vasavan, K.K. Jayachandran, P.A. Mohammad Riyas, and Saji Cheriyan are all contenders in the race.

Pinarayi Vijayan

The unshakable leader of the LDF government that made the Nava Kerala possible, Pinarayi Vijayan has been the Chief Minister of the state since 2016. He is a Politburo member and served as the CPI(M) state secretary from 1998 to 2015. He has been elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1970, 1977, 1991, 1996, 2016, and 2021. He held ministerial positions in the Nayanar government in 1996, as Minister for Cooperation and Power. After the death of the party's state secretary Chadayan Govindan, he resigned as minister to become the party secretary. He has also served as the KSFE state president, KSYC state president, and worked in various other organisational capacities. His leadership during the COVID-19, Nipah, and flood crises in health defense and rehabilitation was internationally acknowledged. His role in the rescue efforts during the Wayanad landslide, township development, poverty eradication, and the completion of five lakh houses under the Life Housing Scheme are some of the remarkable achievements of his administration. In the 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, he was elected from Dharmadom with a majority of 50,123 votes.

K.K. Shailaja

CPI(M) Central Committee member K.K. Shailaja is contesting this time from Peravoor. She gained international recognition as the Minister for Health and Social Welfare in the first Pinarayi Vijayan government, where she led Kerala’s health system during the Nipah and COVID-19 crises. She began her political journey through the SFI. After completing her B.Sc. and B.Ed., she worked as a science teacher at Shivapuram High School before retiring in 2004 to dedicate herself to organisational work. She has served as a member of the State Committee of DYFI and the District Secretary, State Secretary, and All India Joint Secretary of the Democratic Women’s Association (DWA). She is currently the Vice-President of the All India Women’s Association and the Chief Editor of the 'Sthree Shabdam' magazine. She was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly from Kootuparambu in 1996 and 2016, and from Peravoor in 2006. In the 2021 Assembly election, she was elected from Mattannur with a historic margin of 60,963 votes.

T.P. Ramakrishnan

CPI(M) Central Committee member and LDF convenor T.P. Ramakrishnan is contesting from Perambra once again. He attracted attention as the Minister for Labor and Excise in the first Pinarayi Vijayan government. He has been elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly from Perambra in 2001, 2016, and 2021. Ramakrishnan became active in public service through student politics in 1968 as a member of the Kerala Students Federation (KSF). His leadership during significant movements like the 1970 refugee struggle. He faced severe police repression during the Emergency period. He served as the CPI(M) Kozhikode District Secretary from 2004 to 2014. In the 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, he was elected from Perambra with a majority of 22,592 votes.

P. Rajeev

P. Rajeev, the Minister for Industries and Law in the second Pinarayi Vijayan government, has been at the forefront of Kerala’s industrial revolution. He served as a Rajya Sabha member from 2009 to 2015 and led the battle against Section 66(A) of the Information Technology Act in Parliament. In 2013, he represented India at the UN General Assembly. Rajeev won the prestigious Sansad Ratna Award for his exemplary work in Parliament in 2016. He is currently a member of the CPI(M) Central Committee. He has served in various key leadership roles, including State President of SFI, Secretary of DYFI, and District Secretary of CPI(M) Ernakulam. His MP funds contributed significantly to the “Shuchi@School” program, and he established the largest public dialysis center at Aluva District Hospital. He holds degrees in Economics, Law, and Chemical Engineering. In the 2021 Assembly election, he was elected from Kalamassery with a majority of 15,336 votes.

K.N. Balagopal

K.N. Balagopal, the Finance Minister who guided Kerala’s self-reliant fiscal strategies despite economic challenges from the central government, has been an influential leader. He served as the President of SFI in 1994 and became the State Secretary of the organisation in 1995, later becoming the All India President in 1997. He has been a CPI(M) State Committee member since 1998. In 2003, he became the All India President of DYFI. In 2015, he served as the CPI(M) Kollam District Secretary. From 2018, he has been a member of the CPI(M) State Secretariat and, in 2019, became the State Secretary of the Kerala Farmers’ Association. He is currently a member of the CPI(M) Central Committee. From 2006 to 2010, he was the Political Secretary to V.S. Achuthanandan.Balagopal was the member of Parliament from 2010 to 2016. In 2016, he received the Sansad Ratna Award as India’s best parliamentarian. He has held numerous important positions, including serving on various parliamentary committees. Balagopal was elected from Kottarakkara in the 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly elections with a majority of 10,814 votes.

V.N. Vasavan

V.N. Vasavan, the MLA from Ettumanoor and Minister for Cooperation, Devaswoms, and Ports, first entered the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 2006. As the CPI(M) Kottayam District Secretary, he was re-elected from Ettumanoor in the 2021 elections. He has also been the Secretary of the Kerala State Cooperative Union and the Chairman of the RABCO. He took the initiative to establish the "Abhayam Charitable Society" in Kottayam. During his time in the cabinet, he held the responsibilities of the Cultural Department and the Registration Department. He became active in organiaational work through student and youth movements. He contested and was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly from Puthuppally in 1987 and 1991, and later contested for the Lok Sabha from Kottayam in 2019. He led several rights struggles, including during the Emergency period. In the 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, he was elected from Ettumanoor with a majority of 14,303 votes.

K. K. Jayachandran

K. K. Jayachandran, a member of the CPI(M) State Secretariat, has once again emerged as a popular figure from Udupanchola. He was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly representing the Udupanchola constituency in 2001, 2006, and 2011. He has also served in various leadership positions, including as the State Vice President of CITU (Centre of Indian Trade Unions), General Secretary of the Plantation Labour Federation, and Chairman of the Minimum Wage Board.

Active in public life through KSFE, K. K. Jayachandran held several important positions such as the Devikulam Taluk Secretary and the District Joint Secretary. He became a CPI(M) member in 1970. Due to his participation in workers' struggles, he faced severe police brutality in 1972 and 1978. From 1995 to 1998, he served as the CPI(M) District Secretary. In 2012, following the wrongful arrest of District Secretary M. M. Mani by the UDF government in a fabricated case, K. K. Jayachandran became the Acting District Secretary. He was again elected as the District Secretary in 2015. He also served as the District Secretary of CITU.

Saji Cherian

Saji Cherian is the Minister of Fisheries and Cultural Affairs, and also a member of the CPI(M) State Secretariat. He began his political career through the SFI. Following the demise of K. K. Ramachandran Nair, Saji won the Chengannur by-election in 2018. He became a CPI(M) member in 1980 and later held key positions such as the District Secretary and Area Secretary of CPI(M) in Chengannur. Saji has also served as the President and Secretary of the District SFI and DYFI, District President of CITU, Chairman of the District Panchayat Standing Committee, President of Chengannur Block Panchayat, Syndicate member of Kerala University, Chairman of the District Sports Council, President of the District Cooperative Bank, and Executive Committee member of the State Cooperative Bank.

He is currently the Chairman of the Karuna Pain and Palliative Care Society. He completed his pre-degree studies at Christian College, earned a degree from Mavelikara Bishop Moos's College, and studied law at the Thiruvananthapuram Law Academy. Saji was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 2021, winning with a majority of 32,093 votes from Chengannur.

P. A. Muhammad Riyas

P. A. Muhammad Riyas is the Minister for Public Works and Tourism, and also a member of the CPI(M) State Secretariat. He began his political journey through the SFI during his high school days. He was a University Union Councillor at Farook College and served as a member of the University Union at Calicut University in 1998. He was arrested in Delhi and Mumbai during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Riyas has been involved in several social and political causes, including helping the family of Junaid, who was murdered by Hindutva criminals in Haryana, by securing assistance from the Kerala Government.

He was also involved in protests against the police firing on anti-Vedanta plant protesters in Thoothukudi. He is also active in the trade union sector. He has served in various important positions, including as a member of the CPI(M) State Committee, a member of the SFI District Secretariat, District President and Secretary of DYFI, State Joint Secretary, Vice President, All India Joint Secretary, and President. In the 2021 Kerala Legislative Assembly elections, he was elected from Bepoor with a majority of 28,747 votes.