By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat and senior politburo member S. Ramachandran Pillai arrived here Wednesday for a state committee meeting Thursday that will select a new secretariat for the faction-ridden Kerala unit of the party.
The selection of 15-member secretariat is likely to be a smooth affair as the factions led by Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan and state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan have been issued strong warnings by the central leadership that infighting will attract strict action.
The warnings were issued during the state party conference in February at Kottayam.
With seven CPI-M ministers in the outgoing secretariat, it is likely that one or two would be dropped to make way for senior party leaders.
The secretariat may also get a woman member, as the outgoing one did not have any.
Only two of the 15 members in the outgoing secretariat belong to Achuthanandan faction. Vijayan and his group are unlikely to yield any more seats to his faction in the new secretariat.