Thiruvananthapuram: New Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had his first official meetings in the national capital Delhi on Saturday, hoping to have a good working relationship with the Bharatiya Janata Party that controls the federal government.
The Communist Party of India Marxist politburo member called on vice-president, Hamid Ansari, and then visited federal finance minister, Arun Jaitley.
The visits have special significance because the BJP and CPM are strong political rivals, and the CPM-led state government and the BJP-controlled federal government need a good working relationship to realise the development dreams of either side.
Accompanying the new chief minister were state chief secretary, M.S. Vijayanand, and the chief minister’s principal secretary, Nalini Netto.
Also on the chief minister’s itinerary in Delhi are meetings with President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
During his meeting with Jaitley, the latter requested Vijayan’s help in passing the Goods and Services Tax bill in Parliament.
During his Delhi visit, Vijayan will also attend the CPM politburo meeting, which will assess the recent state election results in Kerala, Bengal, Assam, and Tamil Nadu.
Also on the politburo agenda will be veteran CPM leader V.S. Achuthanandan’s ‘request’ to be considered for an advisory post that carries a cabinet rank. CPM general secretary, Sitaram Yechury had said the matter would be discussed at the politburo meeting.
