Kodiyeri Balakrishnan returns as CPI(M) State secretary in Kerala

In November last year, the CPI(M) announced that Balakrishnan was going "on leave" from his post for medical treatment. The decision coincided with the uproar following the arrest of his younger son, Bineesh Kodiyeri.

Kodiyeri Balakrishnan addressing the media after his reinstatement as the CPI(M) State Secretary, in Thiruvananthapuram on December 3.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) in Kerala has reinstated its senior leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan as the party’s State secretary. In November last year, when Balakrishnan was nearing the end of his second term as party secretary, the CPI(M) announced that he was going "on leave" from his post for medical treatment. The decision coincided with the uproar following the arrest of his younger son , Bineesh Kodiyeri, in Bengaluru under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, and for alleged links with some persons in a related narcotics case.

The events unfolded on the eve of the local body elections and the CPI(M), aware of the likely political fallout, decided to appoint A. Vijayaraghavan, the Left Democratic Front’s (LDF’s) convener, as ‘Acting State secretary’ of the party.

Meanwhile, Balakrishnan’s elder son, Binoy Kodiyeri, also became an accused in a paternity case filed against him by a Mumbai-based woman. The case is being heard by the Maharashtra High Court.

The case against Bineesh dragged on for nearly a year after his arrest on October 29, 2020. The charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate said that Bineesh's long-time associate Anoop Mohmmed acted as his ‘benamidar’ in many financial dealings. After his arrest, the ED had raided Bineesh’s house in Thiruvananthapuram, leading to opposition protests in Kerala demanding Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s resignation as State secretary of the ruling CPIM).

Bineesh was released on bail in the money laundering case in early November this year amidst his claim that the case was "politically motivated" by the BJP and that the real target was not Bineesh but Kodiyeri. Bineesh’s name did not figure in the related case filed by the Narcotics Control Bureau. The series of events leading to Bineesh’s case began in August last year with the arrest of Anoop from Kochi and two others, including a Kannada serial actress, in the narcotics case.

With the CPI(M) district conferences set to take place from December 10, and the State conference scheduled in March, the party State committee today gave its approval for Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s return to the helm.

Balakrishnan is a politburo member of the CPI(M) and a former State Home Minister and is well-known for his organisational skills.