Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 14 (IANS) Former Lok Sabha member and veteran Communist Party of India (CPI) leader C.K. Chandrappan, 74, was Sunday unanimously elected the new state secretary of the party in Kerala.

The veteran, who has had three stints in the Lok Sabha and one in the assembly, was selected to lead the party in place of 82-year-old Veliyam Bhargavan, at the party's executive council meeting here.

Emerging from the meeting, Bhargavan told reporters that he had stepped down and Chandrappan was elected unanimously to lead the party.

Chandrappan said that his new assignment was a challenge and the party and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) were prepared to face the challenges.

The CPI, currently the second largest party in the LDF, lost badly in the recently held local agency elections.

In the 2001 assembly polls, Defence Minister A.K. Antony of the Congress defeated Chandrappan from the Shertalai constituency in Alappuzha district and went on the become the chief minister.