LDF rides on VS volte face

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Veteran CPM leader V S Achuthanandan came under an avalanche of criticism, ranging from 'opportunist' to 'caged parrot', following his shocking U-turn on T P Chandrasekharan murder case on Friday. While former home minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan accused Achuthanandan as the last person to turn hostile in the TP murder case, his former LDF colleague A A Aziz described him as a caged parrot.BJP state president V Muraleedharan, meanwhile, called VS an opportunist as the leader's somersault caught everyone by surprise. The move perplexed the UDF leadership and also evoked surprise reactions from within the CPM."It is a good sign and has come at the most opportune moment. The absence of unity in the party was one issue which we had to deal with in every election in the recent past," a senior CPM leader told TOI. Though he didn't have any clue about the compromise formula worked out between VS and the CPM central leadership, he said the veteran leader was satisfied with the action against K C Ramachandran in the TP murder case.CPI state secretary Pannyan Raveendran welcomed the opposition leader's statement on RMP and said this would energise the LDF campaign and strengthen the front as a whole. "VS is the leader of Left movement in the state and he is discharging his duties responsibly," Raveendran told reporters here.Sources close to VS also are clueless about the reasons behind the sudden turn of events. "Of course, the party action against TP murder case convict K C Ramchandran played a great part," said a source close to VS. According to him, the real shift in stand happened during the private meeting between CPM general secretary Prakash Karat and VS in New Delhi on March 1.Then the CPM state committee that met for finalising candidates on March 6 deviated from the agenda and decided to expel K C Ramachandran as directed by the central leadership. "But the report of the party commission was not discussed in the CC meeting that preceded it. When the decision to expel Ramachandran was reported in the secretariat meeting, there was severe opposition from almost all members. But the general secretary insisted on accepting it and the committee had to," said a senior CPM leader.VS accepted the decision of the state committee wholeheartedly and issued a statement welcoming it the very next day. In the following days, he endorsed the decisions of the party and decided to campaign actively for the party.The new found vigour has added to the confidence of the CPM-led LDF. Seven politburo members will lead the campaign along with VS. General secretary Prakash Karat, Brinda Karat, Sitaram Yechuri, A K Padmanabhan and S Ramachandran Pillai will campaign across the state along with Pinarayi Vijayan and Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. Karat will tour the state from April 5 to 7 while Yechuri will campaign from April 3 to 6. The other PB member from the state, M A Baby, will concentrate in Kollam as he is taking on a strong opponent there.