VS retains hold on Ernakulam CPM

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The VS Achuthanandan faction has retained its majority hold over the Ernakulam district CPM leadership.

The district committee which met here saw two leaders of the VS faction replacing two others of the same group, and a Pinarayi faction leader coming in place of former secretary Gopi Kottamurikkal.

The meeting was held in the backdrop of the state leadership decision to sack Gopi and the action against some of those involved in the spycam scandal. It was attended by party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, among others.

Those against whom action was taken — Gopi, P.S. Mohanan and K.A. Chackochan — were kept out of the meeting.

A meeting of the state committee members convened earlier in the day decided to nominate P.R. Muraleedharan, C.B. Devadarshan, both owing allegiance to Achuthanandan and C.K. Manishankar of the Pinarayi faction to the district secretariat. This was accepted by the district committee later in the day.

With this, party insiders said, the VS faction continued to have its majority with eight members in the 11-member district secretariat.

There were demands from a small section that the charges raised recently by Gopi against two party leaders — Chandran Pillai and S Sarma — should be probed by a separate commission.

Another leader, MC Josephine, against whom too Gopi had leveled charges, was present at the meeting for a short time.