With Covid figures falling, CPI-M to hold Kerala conference as planned during March 1-4

Thiruvananthapuram: With Kerala's daily Covid cases falling in recent days is offering as much relief to the ruling CPI-M as to the health machinery of the state. The CPI-M has been watching fingers crossed as with high Covid tally continuing, it will have to call off the long planned state party conference planned for March 1-4.

However, with the latest downward Covid numbers, the party on Friday decided to go ahead with the State Party Conference as planned earlier, but with strict Covid protocols.

A party source was quoted by news agencies as saying that the rally, which is a highlight of all its conferences, will not be held this time, and the meetings will be conducted with a thinner attendance and all those who arrive for the four day event will have to undergo a mandatory RT-PCR test.

Incidentally, the CPI-M had come in for severe reproach last month after its Thiruvananthapuram district conference held a traditional dance with around 500 women, even as strict Covid protocols were in force in the state, as the third wave of the pandemic had just started here.

And when a few of those who took part in this conference turned Covid positive, the criticism increased and State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan announced then that they would take a call regarding the Kochi meeting at a later date.

Even though the daily Covid cases had touched 50,000 last month, the situation has changed now, and daily cases have fallen below the 20,000-mark. Further, health experts are predicting that the peak is over and cases will come down, based on which the party decided to go forward as planned earlier.

The Secretariat meeting also decided to hold the deferred Alappuzha district conference on February 15-16.

With Kodiyeri all set to get a third and final term, all eyes are on who all make it to the powerful state committee and the secretariat, the crucial decision making body of the party.