Kollam: An absence became a colourful sideshow at the inaugural of the CPM State Conference in Kollam. M Mukesh, Kollam MLA himself was missing.

 That the actor-cum-legislator was embroiled in a 'me too' case intensified the speculation. Did the party ask him to keep away, not wanting to deflect attention from, or undermine, a primary objective of the conference: transform Kerala into a women-friendly state? Nonetheless, party insiders claim that Mukesh is part of the organising committee of the State Conference.

CPM state secretary M V Govindan was irritated when asked about the whereabouts of the Kollam MLA. "You yourself look for him and tell me," he told reporters at the press conference he held at the State Conference venue. "Is he in a film shoot," he was asked. 'I don't know.

One more question on Mukesh and Govindan lost his cool. "I am not going to reply to this. I came here to discuss the documents presented at the conference, and you keep asking me where someone is. I cannot account for any missing Narayanan or Kunjuraman. If the MLA is missing, you only have to search. You seem to have all the equipment," he said, pointing to the channel cameras around.

Govindan also said that Mukesh's absence was not an issue at all. "Have all our party MLAs come? Not all MLAs or MPs come for the conference," he said. Further, he said that the issue was too trivial for the public to bother.

The state secretary did not say whether Mukesh had been told to abstain but said that the party had indeed taken a decision that Mukesh need not resign as MLA until proven guilty. "If he resigns on moral grounds and is later found to be innocent, is there any provision in the law to restore his MLA status on moral grounds," Govindan had then famously said, rejecting demands for Mukesh's resignation.

Even then, it looks like the party was not comfortable with his presence not only at the conference but even in the run-up events. Mukesh was absent not only on the inaugural day. He was not seen in any of the cultural events and seminars organised in Kollam in the run up to the State Conference.

Significantly, he was not even invited to speak on an issue close to him: "Kollam, the land of visual arts'. The event was held on February 27, at Ramankulangara, and was inaugurated by filmmaker Shaji N Karun. Forget inauguration, Mukesh was not even called as a speaker for another event related to theatre titled 'Stage and Backstage'. Considering his links to one of Kerala's most reputed drama troupes, Kalidasa Kalakendram, his presence at the event was seen as a certainty. Mukesh was not part of any seminars held before the conference either.