Alappuzha (Kerala), Feb 23
Senior politburo member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan was Monday elected the new secretary of the Kerala unit of the CPI-M succeeding Pinarayi Vijayan.

The 21st state party conference of the CPI-M also elected an 88-member state committee, Balakrishnan told reporters after his unanimous election.

\"The election was unanimous and there was no difference of opinion. The conference also selected a 175-member delegation which will represent Kerala at the upcoming party congress to be held in April at Visakhapatanam,\" said the new state secretary.

The 61-year-old politburo member of the party rose to this level working up the ladder after beginning as a student activist.

A five-time legislator from Tellicherry in Kannur district, Balakrishnan -- compared to his predecessor Pinarayi Vijayan -- is a man known for sporting a smile always and has always been one who freely mingles with everyone.

The new 88-member state committee has 15 new faces and most of them come from the young and middle-aged generations of the party.

\"Achuthanandan should have attended today\'s meeting and he could have aired all his grievances in the party meeting. Since he is already a central committee member of the party he can always attend the state committee meeting of the party, even though he was not elected to the state committee today,\" said Balakrishnan, when asked about the absence of the 91-year-old veteran from the state committee.

He said the politburo will look into the issues raised by Achuthanandan who, he said, has been one leader in the CPI-M who has always been given a lot of consideration.

\"Since ours is a party that will not entertain any sort of bargaining, Achuthanandan was spoken to by our general secretary Prakash Karat who requested him to attend the conference, but he is yet to do so. For a party like ours, we do give a lot of importance to our party constitution,\" said Balakrishnan when reporters persisted with their queries about the manner in which Achuthanandan behaved by boycotting the party conference on Saturday.

Achuthanandan has come out with a press release saying he will not take part in Monday\'s meeting.

Kodiyeri Balakrishnan is new CPI-M Kerala secretary