The CPI(M) has made significant changes to its Kerala state secretariat and state committee, bringing in four new members to the secretariat and nine others to the state committee. The changes were decided at the party’s extended state committee meeting, an unusual exercise carried out outside the regular state conference process.
The reshuffle comes after three successive electoral defeats for the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front in Kerala. The party lost the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the local body elections and the 2026 Assembly election, prompting an internal assessment of its organisational functioning and political approach.
P Jayarajan from Kannur, V Sivankutty from Thiruvananthapuram and MB Rajesh from Palakkad have been inducted into the state secretariat. Rajya Sabha MP and journalist John Brittas will also function as part of the state secretariat in his capacity as an invitee to the CPI(M) Central Committee.
The party's state secretariat will now have 20 members, including state secretary MV Govindan and former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The other members are EP Jayarajan, KN Balagopal, P Rajeeve, KK Jayachandran, VN Vasavan, Saji Cherian, M Swaraj, PA Mohammed Riyas, PK Biju, Puthalath Dineshan, MV Jayarajan, CN Mohanan, P Jayarajan, V Sivankutty and MB Rajesh. KK Shailaja is also among the senior leaders in the state secretariat.
The party has also decided to appoint P Rajeeve as the LDF convenor. At the same time, Central Committee members TM Thomas Isaac and TP Ramakrishnan have been removed from the state secretariat. Both Isaac and Ramakrishnan, as Central Committee members, can continue to participate in the state secretariat's proceedings.
The party is describing the changes as an 'expansion' of the state secretariat and committee rather than a restructuring. The move is being viewed as part of the corrective measures discussed within the party following the electoral setbacks.
CPI(M) General Secretary MA Baby said the extraordinary nature of the exercise was linked to the seriousness of the three consecutive defeats.
"When we work and struggle, we make many things right and achieve many advances. In between, there may also be shortcomings and mistakes. The practice is to examine them at the appropriate time and move forward. But this time, there have been three consecutive electoral defeats. We lost the Lok Sabha election in Kerala, lost the local body elections, and lost the state Assembly election as well. That is why this is being described as an extraordinary situation. And the defeat was a fairly serious one," Baby said.
He said the party needed to identify its shortcomings without hesitation and examine where it had gone wrong. "Therefore, there needs to be a good deal of introspection. We have to identify who went wrong and where, acknowledge those shortcomings without any hesitation, admit the mistakes and show the willingness to correct them," he said.
The CPI(M) has also brought several younger leaders and representatives of its mass organisations into the state committee as permanent invitees.
Those inducted include former Karunagappally area committee leader Susan Kody, who had earlier been removed from the party in connection with factional issues in Karunagappally.
Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) All India-level leader Jaick C Thomas, DYFI state secretary M Vijin, Student Federation of India (SFI) state secretary PS Sanjeev, SFI state president M Sivaprasad, N Sukanya, OS Ambika, Zubaida Isahak and Prabha Varma have also been included as permanent invitees to the state committee.
Baby said the discussions had also examined whether the party had adequately understood public sentiment and whether its organisational atmosphere allowed comrades to speak openly.
"When all these matters were assessed, the party realised that, at least in some places, there had been shortcomings in understanding what the people were thinking. The party has also examined whether this was because there was no conducive atmosphere for party comrades to speak openly about everything," he said.
He said the decisions taken at the extended meeting would allow the party to move forward with greater confidence.
"In any case, with the decisions taken here now, we can approach the party with an open mind. This will create confidence among the people, party supporters and party members at various levels," Baby said.
The leadership changes are among the first major organisational responses from the CPI(M) after the Left's poor performance in the 2026 Assembly election. The induction of younger leaders and mass-organisation functionaries, alongside changes in the state secretariat, signals an attempt to broaden the leadership even as the party undertakes a more critical examination of its electoral setbacks.