Madurai(PTI): Former Kerala minister M A Baby was elected as the CPI(M) general secretary at the 24th party congress here on Sunday, sources said.

A section of the party leaders had backed All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) president Ashok Dhawale for the post.

Born to P M Alexander and Lilly Alexander in Kerala's Prakkulam in 1954, Baby's first exposure to politics came when he joined the Kerala Students Federation, the predecessor of the Students Federation of India, during his school days.

He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1986 to 1998.

Baby has been a member of the Politburo, the highest decision-making body of the CPI(M), since 2012.

The post of the party general secretary fell vacant following the death of Sitaram Yechury last year, after which Prakash Karat took over as the interim coordinator.

The 24th party congress of the CPI(M) began on April 2 and will end on Sunday.

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Bajpe: Police have arrested a youth for allegedly posting derogatory and defamatory content against the Bajpe police on social media.

The arrested accused has been identified as Abhishek M. (23), a resident of Katipalla, Surathkal.

According to the police, Abhishek posted a photograph of Bajpe Nisarga Hotel on his Instagram account mr_a_titude_22, alleging that accused persons in a murder case under the jurisdiction of the Bajpe police station were being treated “like royalty” by the police and were being served beef meals from the hotel every day. In his post, he further accused the police of colluding with criminals and misusing their authority, stating that public trust in the police was being betrayed.

Following which, the Bajpe police registered a case and arrested the accused.

Police records reveal that Abhishek is already facing multiple criminal cases. A case of murder, attempt to murder, assault and robbery has been registered against him at the Surathkal police station. At the same time, a robbery case has also been registered at the Kaup police station.

After his arrest, Abhishek was handed over to the custody of the CEN police for further investigation. He was later produced before a court, police said.