Kerala Socialist Party

Kerala Socialist Party (KSP) is a political party in India founded under the leadership of Mathai Manjooran on 21 September, 1947 at Kozhikode. It began as a small party, but its front-line leaders compelled the party deep into the public imagination. The party became part of the coalition that formed the first democratically elected communist government in the world after San Marino.[1][2]

Within the first two-and-a-half decades from its inception, KSP came to play a larger-than-life role in the political landscape of the post-independence Kerala State.

Among its founding members other than Mathai Manjooran were John Manjooran, M.T. Lazar, N. Sreekantan Nair, M.P. Menon (who later went on to become a Judge of the High Court of Kerala) K. Balakrishnan (son of the veteran Congress leader C. Kesavan) K.C.K.M. Mather, P. K. Balakrishnan, K.R. Chummar, G. Janardhana Kurup, T.P. Chakrapani, A.P. Pillai to name only some of the prominent leaders.

On October 1949, within 2 years of its inception the party underwent a split and N. Sreekantan Nair, Baby John and K. Balakrishnan joined the Revolutionary Socialist Party, then a small socialist party confined to Bengal.

It was one among the seven parties that came together to form the United Front coalition government in Kerala under the chief ministership of E.M.S. Namboodiripad in 1967 to 1969.[3]

It won only one seat in the 1970 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, which it contested within a new alliance led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), no longer as part of the reconstituted United Front (initially known as the "Mini Front") which ruled Kerala for 1970–1979.

Other prominent leaders of the KSP were as follows:

  • Mamman Kannanthanam
  • Cherian Manjooran
  • Varkey Unnikkunnel
  • Baby John
  • M.L. George
  • P. Sankarankutty
  • S.S. Das
  • K.G. Nath
  • Karunakara Menon
  • A. Damodaran
  • C.N. Sreekandan Nair
  • C.S. Gangadharan
  • Prakkulam Bhasi
  • Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai
  • C. Vivekanandan.
  • Sadananda Shastri
  • L.G. Pai
  • T.K. Divakaran[4]
  • U. Neelakhandan

Important members and fellow travellers of the KSP:

  • Pozhamangalath George alias P P Varuthukutty (Secretary, Tata Employees Union)
  • M.K. Menon (Vilasini)
  • K. M. Ro

References
  1. KK Kailash. "EMS Namboodiripad, the man who headed the first elected communist government in the world". India Today. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  2. "World's first elected Communist government celebrates 60th anniversary". Mattersindia.com. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  3. "Lefdtist Coalition Defeats Congress Party" (PDF). Cia.gov. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  4. Mohammed, Sham (16 January 2019). "TK Divakaran's dream turns real". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 17 April 2021.

Sources


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