Kummanam takes charge as BJP State chief

Thiruvananthapuram: VHP and Hindu Aikya Vedi leader Kummanam Rajasekharan assumed charge as State president of the BJP here on Saturday.

He will soon convene a meeting of the core committee of the State unit and reconstitute the State Committee of the party. The indications are that he would be inducting many new faces to lead the party in the coming Assembly elections.

Addressing the media here, Mr. Rajasekharan said that the objective of the BJP would be to rule the State and not just open an account in the Assembly.

He said that religious discrimination was prevalent in the State. Replying to a question, he said that he wanted appointments of tantris at Sabarimala and Guruvayoor to be governed by merit and not caste.

The decision to appoint Mr. Rajasekharan as president was taken at the all-India core committee meeting of the party held in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Mr. Rajasekharan is first full time RSS pracharak (volunteer) to become the State president of the party. The usual practice so far was to make the nominees of RSS the organising secretary of the party.

A Hindutva hardliner, Mr. Rajasekharan has been the general secretary of the Hindu Aikya Vedi and the leader of Vishva Hindu Parishad.  It is expected that as party State president he would be able to build better bridges with Nair Service Society and SNDP Yogam and bring about unity in the faction-ridden State unit.

CPI (M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said that the appointment of Mr. Rajasekharan as State president of BJP was part of a planned move create communal polarization in the State. Secular forces should be vigilant about that.