Achutha gets seat relief from north
The CPI(M) district committee of northern Kasargod has volunteered to offer an Assembly seat to the beleaguered Kerala chief minister V.S. Achuthannadan, lending him a last-minute breather.
The committee, which has many VS loyalists, suggested that he could be fielded in Kanhangad or Thrikkaripur, both CPI(M) strongholds.
Most other district committees, perhaps taking a cue from the party’s state leadership, did not propose his name, adding to the uncertainty over his candidacy.
There was also another silver lining for the 87-year-old Mr Achuthananadan, who had volunteered to contest even before getting the party nod. The Palakkad district committee has left Malampuzha, his sitting seat, vacant.
The district committee on Thursday finalised the list of candidates for all seats the party intends to contest in the April 13 Assembly elections.
The committee in Alappuzha, while finalising its list, ignored Mr Achuthanandan although there was speculation he might choose to contest from the low-lying Kuttanad constituency. He hails from the district, which has been his arena of action for decades.
The state committee session which ended here on Thursday directed district committees to finalise their respective lists of nominees to be considered by the state secretariat when it resumes its sitting here on March 16.
Both the politburo and the central committee of the CPM, while holding crucial meetings in New Delhi, refused to clinch the Achuthanandan question though it was believed the apex committees would take a decision and convey it to lower committees.
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