C. P. John (born 22 April 1957) is an Indian politician and lawyer, who is currently serving as the Minister of Transport in the Government of Kerala and as a Member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly from Thiruvananthapuram since 2026. He is the General Secretary of the Communist Marxist Party Kerala State Committee (CMPKSC). Currently, John is the only communist minister of a state in India.
Early life C. P. John has a B.Sc. in physics (1977) and LLB (1980) from the University of Calicut.
Political career John was the Vice President of SFI Central committee during 1978 and the youngest President of Kerala State committee of SFI. 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.Tehelka. Demise of the Old Left When M.V. Raghavan died in 2014, the party had split and with the C.P. John-led faction staying with UDF.Outlook. CMP General Secretary Aravindakshan passes awayMadhaymam. CMP splits within hours of MV Raghavan's cremation In 2016 C.P. John was elected general secretary of the Confederation of Indian Communists and Democratic Socialists.Mathrubhumi. സി.പി. ജോണ് കമ്മ്യൂണിസ്റ്റ് കോണ്ഫെഡറേഷന് ജനറല് സെക്രട്ടറി He was the national executive member of Hind Mazdoor Sabha.
He has served two terms as a member in Kerala State Planning Board.The Statesman. UDF partner CMP on verge of splitThe Telegraph. ‘Equating Trinamul with BJP is the CPM's second historic blunder’ says Communist leader CP John John is a prominent leader of the United Democratic Front (UDF), and acts as spokesperson on behalf of the UDF.Kerala Kaumudi. UDF trying to bring C P John to assembly, likely to give a strong constituency in MalabarDeccan Chronicle. Birds to break shackles, fly higher
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.
+ 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
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