Action against three CPI leaders for poll debacle

: Sharp divisions in the CPI's Kerala unit over the humiliating defeat it suffered in Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha seat headed to a flashpoint today with the state council demoting three leaders, including national executive member C Divakaran.
The state leadership as a whole came under attack in the council meet over the selection of Bennet Abraham as its contestant in Thiruvananthapuram, where the Congress' Sashi Tharoor scored a second consecutive win with the BJP's O Rajagopal coming a close runner-up.
Based on the report of an internal inquiry panel which found fault with the choice of candidate, most members of the state council unleashed an unsparing attack on the top functionaries, including state Secretary Panniyan Raveendran.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Raveendran said Divakaran, a former minister and leader of the party in the state assembly, had been demoted from the state Executive to the state Council.
State Executive member P Ramachandran Nair, who was in charge of the election in the seat, was also shunted to the state council and District Secretary Venjaramood Sasi removed from the post.
The poll result came as a severe blow to the LDF in general and CPI in particular as Rajagopal finished a close second in the keenly watched contest, pushing Abraham to the third spot.

The three-member panel which probed the defeat had indicted the state leadership and key district functionaries over the choice of the candidate. There had been allegations that the candidate selection was made with an eye on polarising votes of a particular community in the area.

Raveendran admitted that the candidate selection was flawed but refuted the reports that there had been irregularities in sourcing of the campaign funds.
The report, presented last week was referred to the state council after discussions in the executive.
While Nair and Sasi resented the action alleging that they were victims of factional trends in the party, Divakaran said he would abide by the action as the party had every right to point out mistake and take corrective action.