The man who guarded CPM citadel may make over liquor policy: TP Ramakrishnan

Kozhikode: After leading CPM in the district during its most trying times, TP Ramakrishnan, 67, is arriving in the state capital with the task of "setting right" the flawed liquor policy of the previous dispensation. Son of a committed party worker Thazhathuparambil Shankaran of Keezhariyoor, he lived amid party men from his childhood. Arrested during the Emergency, he had also suffered brutal torture in prison.

He entered politics through Kerala Students’ Federation and became CPM Keezhariyoor local committee member in 1979. A busy trade unionist, he became the district committee member in 1979 and was elected to the assembly in 2001.

He protected the CPM fortress aftermath T.P. Chandrasekharan murder. The former VS loyalist slowly became the sole voice of the party in the district. His visit to China soon after the killing had drawn much flak and many viewed it as a protest. He explained that it was a pre-planned trip. Having served as the district secretary for nine years, the party included him in the state secretariat, against his wishes. He was also not interested in contesting the elections.

It was the direct intervention of Pinarayi Vijayan that ensured his contest from Perambra. Mr Ramakrishnan, TP to his followers, is the state vice-president of CITU. He had also served as a member of State Labour Welfare Board.

His wife Nalini also is a full-time party worker, now the district secretary of Janadhipathya Mahila Association, CPM's women’s wing, and a member of the party's Kozhikode district committee. The couple has two children - Rajulal and Ranjini.