Kerala polls: CPM keeps Achuthanandan guessing

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief minister V S Achuthanandan represents the CPM's hope in Kerala. But hardly a month to go for the crucial assembly elections, it is in two minds over whether to field him or project him as the Left Democratic Front's (LDF) chief ministerial candidate.
"The final decision on CPM candidates will be made only between March 15 and 18," LDF convenor Vaikom Viswan said after a party state committee meeting here on Wednesday.Sources said LDF would by then have decided on the seats to be allotted to allies. The question of who should be fielded from these seats will be taken only after that, they added.
Speaking in Delhi last week, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat was emphatic that Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee would lead the party in Bengal. But he remained unclear on whether VS would lead the party in Kerala and said this would be decided by the state unit. The state unit is yet to decide despite a state secretariat meeting on Monday and Tuesday followed by a meet on Wednesday. Asked why CPM could not name him like it had done in Buddhadeb's case, VS told reporters, "He hoped those responsible would clarify the matter."
"CPM didn't want him last time as well, but circumstances forced the party," says political analyst B R P Bhaskar referring to the pressure that forced the party to take back its decision not to field VS in 2006.