The late CPM stalwart Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s life was inextricably linked to Thalassery, a town in northern Kerala that saw the rise of the Communist party, important moments in the national independence movement, and social reform movements.
At a very young age, Balakrishnan advanced to prominent positions within the Left party.
He began his career as a communist leader while serving as the branch secretary for the CPM’s Eengayilppeedika branch. He was appointed the local committee secretary of the party while still a college student.
At the age of 20, he was appointed the State Secretary for the SFI while also serving as the LC secretary. At age 36, the party gave Kodiyeri control of the Kannur district.
Kodiyeri was given the role of Kannur district secretary following the interim administration of T Govindan and current Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Kodiyeri Balakrishnan joined the party’s Polit Bureau at the age of 54 as well.
Balakrishnan was repeatedly elected to the Kerala state assembly and equally successful in political agitations and the parliamentary arena.
Although he initially served as the branch and local secretary, he really felt the political pressure when he was the district secretary.
Thalassery has consistently supported him in all of his positions. He continued to be the leading advocate in the fields of development, politics, culture, and entertainment. Kodiyeri was constantly present, whether it was on the party’s parliamentary front or the demonstration front.
He had served as a legislator in the Assembly for nearly 25 years, in two phases, representing Thalassery in 1982, 1987, 2001, 2006, and 2011.
He was the district president of the DYFI, the party’s youth wing, when he initially ran for the Assembly.
In order to protest the Emergency order, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan organised a student demonstration to start his political agitations. The Chirakkara from Thalassery was chosen for the protest march.
He served as the district secretary for Kannur until joining the State secretariat in 1995, at which point he relocated to Thiruvananthapuram.
When Kodiyeri was a school student, he had experienced physical assaults as a result of a political dispute with the RSS.
After taking the SSLC exam and exiting the building, Balakrishnan was attacked by RSS employees.
He had to spend a considerable amount of time in the hospital for therapy after that.
On Saturday, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan passed away in Chennai.
Post Your Comments