Kozhikode: The untimely demise of K.S. Bimal, 39, former SFI central committee member, is a hard blow to the Left alternative movement in the state.
The young leader dared to tread the path shown by the slain RMP leader T.P. Chandrasekharan, disagreeing with the CPM. He was a mass leader marked by exemplary organizational capacity and oratory skills. Bimal was expelled from the CPM after he, along with others, came out against the murder of Chandrasekharan in May 2012.
Bimal, who lamented the shrinking democratic space in the CPM, was the local committee member of the party during the expulsion.
Instead of joining the RMP, he formed a movement, ‘Janathipathya Samrakshana Vedi’ to explore Left spaces. Bimal left his stamp in theatre with scripting and directing many a noted drama. He was afflicted with lung cancer and the death came on Wednesday night at JIPMER in Puthucherry, where he was undergoing treatment.
As per his wish, Bimal’s two eyes were donated to the eye bank of the hospital. Scores of people, many DYFI and SFI leaders thronged the town hall to pay their last respects to the leader.
Those who came include CPM state secretary, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, district secretary P. Mohanan, M.B Rajesh MP, A. Pradeep Kumar MLA, RMP leaders K.K. Rema and N. Venu.
The body was kept at Vadakara town hall and Edachery community hall before it was taken to the funeral venue at his house in Edachery. Bimal is survived by his wife and two children.
