Kannur, April 5 : The 23rd Congress of the CPI(M) will begin here in Kerala, the only state it now rules, on Wednesday to deliberate the way ahead amid continuing political domination in the country by its sworn enemy, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The April 6-10 gathering will take place at the E K Nayanar Academy at Burnassery — the venue named after a former Marxist veteran who was once the Chief Minister of Kerala. CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, CPI General Secretary D Raja and CPI(M) leaders Prakash Karat, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, Kerala Chief Minister PInarayi Vijayan, former Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar, Hannan Molla, S Ramachandran Pillai, M A Baby, Brinda Karat and Central committee members have arrived here. The Central Committee will function here from Tuesday. As many as 815 delegates and 77 observers from 24 states and 95 Central Committee members will attend the delegates meeting, which will be inaugurated by Yechury on Wednesday. Kerala has the highest number of delegates at 178 and 3 observers followed by West Bengal (163), Tamil Nadu (53) and Tripura (40). Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Staliln will attend as a special invitee on April 9. Congress leaders and former on Ministers K V Thomas and Sashi Taroor were also invited to the seminar but the Congress denied them permission to attend. A “Red Volunteer” march will take place with the participation of some 2,000 members. Chief Minister and Organizing Committee Chairman Vijayan will hoist the party flag. In recent years, the CPI(M) has seen its political influence wane in the country along with that of the Congress, with which it is allied in West Bengal while fighting it in Kerala. AK/SS MR