Thiruvananthapuram: A comment by CPM politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan, endorsing an earlier resolution of the party that referred to V S Achuthanandan as a comrade with an anti-party mindset, triggered a controversy on Wednesday, prompting the leader to issue a clarification later.
Vijayan, while answering a query at the Press Club, said that the resolution passed by the state committee on the eve of Alappuzha state conference last year was still applicable despite his candidature in the assembly elections.
“The party resolution against him (VS) and his candidature in the coming elections are two different things. Achuthanandan's candidature is a party decision and not his own,“ he said.
Reacting quickly, BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan said Achuthanandan should not contest on a CPM ticket `if he has any self-esteem'. “Vijayan has brought back Achuthanandan's anti-party stand. The CPM should not force a person, who is unacceptable to the party , to be its candidate. One shouldn't be surprised if a Mararikkulam model is repeated in Malampuzha,“ he said. VS was defeated in Mararikkulam in 1996.
Home minister Ramesh Chennithala sought a clarification from VS and CPM on why the party had fielded a candidate with an antiparty mindset. Sensing that the issue would stoke a controversy and create a divide in the party , Vijayan later said at a public meeting in Attingal that the media had misquoted him `to create factionalism in the party'. Vijayan issued a clarification on Facebook. “VS begins campaign from the northern end today and I from the south.This is the unity in our party. Nothing can challenge that,“ he wrote.
Meanwhile, when asked who was likely to be the chief minister if LDF won the polls, Vijayan said a decision would be taken after May 19. “There are many eligible candidates and anyone could be the next chief minister,“ he said.
Predicting a win in 100 seats, the CPM leader said, voters, including farmers and workers in the traditional sectors and PSUs, have decided not to give UDF another chance.
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