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C. P. John

Indian politician

C. P. John

C. P. John is an Indian lawyer, economist, politician and political strategist and the General Secretary of the CMP who is currently serving as the Minister of Transport in the Government of Kerala. He is the Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Thiruvananthapuram Assembly constituency after his victory in the 2026 Kerala Legislative Assembly election. He is the National executive member of Hind Mazdoor Sabha. He was the Vice President of SFI Central committee during 1978 and the youngest President of Kerala State committee of SFI. He served two terms as a member of Kerala State Planning Board. Currently, John is the only communist minister of a state in India.

C. P. John

C. P. John
Minister for Transport,
Government of Kerala
Incumbent
Assumed office
18 May 2026
GovernorRajendra Arlekar
Chief Minister
V. D. Satheesan
Preceded byK. B. Ganesh Kumar
Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 May 2026
Preceded byAntony Raju
ConstituencyThiruvananthapuram
General Secretary of the Communist Marxist Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 2014
Preceded byM. V. Raghavan
Personal details
Born (1957-04-22) 22 April 1957 (age 69)
Kunnamkulam, Thrissur, Kerala, India
PartyCommunist Marxist Party
Parent(s)C. I. Poulose & Rosa
Government Law College, Kozhikode
OccupationPolitician, Social Worker, Lawyer

C. P. John (born 22 April 1957) is an Indian lawyer, economist, politician and political strategist and the General Secretary of the CMP who is currently serving as the Minister of Transport in the Government of Kerala. He is the Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Thiruvananthapuram Assembly constituency after his victory in the 2026 Kerala Legislative Assembly election.[1][2][3][4][5] He is the National executive member of Hind Mazdoor Sabha.[6] He was the Vice President of SFI Central committee during 1978 and the youngest President of Kerala State committee of SFI.[7] He served two terms as a member of Kerala State Planning Board.[8][9] Currently, John is the only communist minister of a state in India.

John is a prominent leader of the UDF, and acts as spokesperson on behalf of the UDF.[10][11] He was one of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leadership that sided with M.V. Raghavan when the latter broke with CPI(M) in 1986 and founded the Communist Marxist Party.[12] When M.V. Raghavan died in 2014, the party had split and with the C.P. John-led faction staying with UDF.[13][14] In 2016 C.P. John was elected general secretary of the Confederation of Indian Communists and Democratic Socialists.[15]

C.P. John has a B.Sc in Physics (1977) and LLB (1980) from the University of Calicut.[16]

2026 Kerala Legislative Assembly election

In the 2026 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, C. P. John contested as the United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency. In a closely contested triangular battle involving the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the NDA, John secured victory with a margin of 9,863 votes. He polled a total of 45,586 votes, defeating the LDF-backed independent candidate, actor Sudheer Karamana, who received 35,723 votes.[17]

2026 Kerala Legislative Assembly election: Thiruvananthapuram
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
CMPKSC (UDF) C. P. John 45,586 38.3 +5.81
Ind. (LDF) Sudheer Karamana 35,723 30.0 -8.01
BJP Karamana Jayan 35,125 29.5 +2.21
Margin of victory 9,863 8.3
Turnout 1,19,021 64.5
CMPKSC gain from JKC Swing

References

  1. ↑ "LDF govt.'s priorities skewed, says C.P. John". The Hindu. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  2. ↑ "C.P. John CMP faction leader". The Hindu. 2 December 2014. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  3. ↑ "CMP general secretary CP John's biography of Rosa Luxemburg launched". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  4. ↑ "C P John(Communist Marxist Party Kerala State Committee):Constituency- KUNNAMKULAM(THRISSUR) - Affidavit Information of Candidate". myneta.info. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  5. ↑ "CMP 10th party congress from Sunday". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  6. ↑ "HMS promises funds for reconstruction". The Hindu. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  7. ↑ Thampi, Praveen S (8 May 2016). "Kerala Polls: Politics of Left, Right & Centre in the state". The Economic Times. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  8. ↑ The Statesman. UDF partner CMP on verge of split
  9. ↑ The Telegraph. ‘Equating Trinamul with BJP is the CPM's second historic blunder’ says Communist leader CP John
  10. ↑ Kerala Kaumudi. UDF trying to bring C P John to assembly, likely to give a strong constituency in Malabar
  11. ↑ Deccan Chronicle. Birds to break shackles, fly higher
  12. ↑ Tehelka. Demise of the Old Left Archived 16 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Outlook. CMP General Secretary Aravindakshan passes away
  14. ↑ Madhaymam. CMP splits within hours of MV Raghavan's cremation
  15. ↑ Mathrubhumi. സി.പി. ജോണ്‍ കമ്മ്യൂണിസ്റ്റ് കോണ്‍ഫെഡറേഷന്‍ ജനറല്‍ സെക്രട്ടറി Archived 2021-05-10 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ↑ "C P John(Communist Marxist Party Kerala State Committe):Constituency- KUNNAMKULAM(THRISSUR) - Affidavit Information of Candidate:". www.myneta.info. Retrieved 22 March 2026.
  17. ↑ "Thiruvananthapuram election results 2026: CMPKSC's CP John wins against Independent Sudhir Karamana by 9,863 votes". The Times of India. 4 May 2026. Retrieved 9 May 2026.