Thiruvananthapuram, Mar 16: Ending days of suspense, the CPI-M in Kerala today decided not to field Chief Minister and party stalwart V S Achuthanandan in the April 13 assembly polls, sparking protests in the state with his supporters taking out marches.
CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan will also not enter the fray and the LDF coalition will be led by state Home Minister and Politburo member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, party sources said.
The decision to face the polls without the 87-year-old veteran as the central player was first taken by the party's state secretariat which was later ratified by the state committee.
The state committee also drew up the candidates list for the 93 seats which the party will contest. The list will be announced on March 18. CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat was present at the secretariat meet.
When reporters sought his reaction as he emerged from the meeting, Achuthanandan's terse comment was "those who are competent to brief you will tell you all these things". The party decision sparked protests in different parts of the state with Achuthanandan's supporters taking out marches.
The question whether Achuthanandan would be back in the electoral arena had dominated the political discourse in Kerala for the past few weeks.
Party sources said Achuthanandan himself stated he was not interested in entering the fray on health grounds but would actively campaign for the LDF victory despite his advanced age and health problems.
According to party sources, Achuthanandan did not raise any objection at the party committee meetings when a strong section suggested that both he and Vijayan could keep off the electoral arena this time.
Achuthanandan himself had said a few days ago he would contest the polls if the party asked him to do so but the state unit dominated by his bitter rival, Vijayan, had been against fielding him again.
However, some political developments in the last couple of months had boosted Achuthanandan's chances to continue to be the LDF's pivot.
The conviction of Kerala Congress (B) leader R Balakrishna Pillai in a graft case, resurfacing of allegations against Indian Union Muslim League leader P K Kunhalikutty in connection with a sex scam and the attention regained by the palmolein import graft case had made Achuthanandan to assert that his stand on these issues had been vindicated.
As the Opposition leader in 2001-06, Achuthanandan had played a vigorous role in pursuing these cases involving the leaders of the Congress-led UDF.
Kerala's first Communist chief minister hailing from a working class background, Achuthanandan was elected to the state assembly in 1970, 1977, 1996, 2001 and 2006. Coming from Leftist stronghold Alappuzha, he was a skilled organiser and a shrewd political player who took the lead in organising farm and coir workers.
He was among the leaders who came out of the national council of the undivided CPI, which paved the way for the split in Indian Communist movement and led to the formation of the CPI-M. For long he served as the party's state secretary and convener of the LDF.
In 1996, he was defeated in Mararikkulam, in his home district Alappuzha, though the LDF captured power at the time. His defeat was allegedly the result of the machinations of his rivals within the party then.
Achuthanandan was removed from the politburo a year ago after the factionalism in the state unit reached a flash point when he demanded removal of Vijayan as state secretary after the latter was made an accused in a graft case.
In 2006, Achuthanandan was first denied ticket by the party state leadership, despite proving to be highly successful as Opposition leader in the previous five years. But he upset the calculations of his rivals by getting the decision reversed by demonstrating his popularity and with the support of some party bigwigs of the time like late Jyoti Basu. PTI
