Kalpetta: Amid growing discontent among the new district committee members regarding P Gagarin's role as CPM district secretary, an election resulted in DYFI district secretary K Rafeeq being appointed the new party district secretary on Monday. 

Although Rafeeq denied reports of an election for the position, party sources confirmed otherwise. CPM state committee members overseeing the process also expressed their support for Rafeeq. As per reports, Rafeeq won 16 votes while Gagarin managed only 11. As a result, Gagarin, who had served two terms as CPM district secretary and was the nominee for re-election, was compelled to step down, according to a party spokesperson.

Gagarin’s departure follows criticism of his failure to address various issues facing the district’s farming community. During his tenure, party membership significantly declined, with hundreds of members resigning from CPM and joining CPI, which escalated tensions among LDF constituents. It is widely believed that Gagarin's removal was in line with the wishes of the CPM state committee.