CPM puts foot down, VS back in poll fray

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Exposing the faultlines in the CPM further, the party in a dramatic move on Friday announced the candidature of Kerala chief minister V S Achuthanandan from Malampuzha in Palakkad district.
The step, sources said, followed a nudge from the CPM politburo, which put its foot down on the state unit’s move to deny the veteran a ticket to contest the April 13 polls.The opposition Congress called it a pre-scripted drama.
CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan announced the final official list of candidates at the party headquarters here. He even had some unexpected “praise” reserved for his bete noire. “V S Achuthanandan is the indisputable leader of the party in Kerala and hence the question is irrelevant,” Vijayan told reporters who sought to know whether VS would also lead the Left Democratic Front campaign in the polls.
Sources say the politburo had “advised” the state unit against keeping VS out as it had got the feel of the “popular mood”. Ever since news of the denial of ticket to VS broke, there was a groundswell of support for the octogenarian leader, who has managed to cut a clean image for himself.
His name did not figure in the initial list that came up for consideration of the party secretariat, which met here earlier this week, and thereafter for ratification before the party state committee. The state leadership (read the official faction) felt that he was violating party discipline too often and had put them in an embarrassing position on a range of critical issues. In his place, the state leadership chose home minister and politburo member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan to lead the party in the elections.
But what followed was a near repeat of 2006 when a wave of public support rose in response to the denial of ticket to VS. From Kasargode to Thiruvananthapuram, embittered supporters took to the streets.