VS party rivals sharpen claws
After successfully challenging the Opposition, which trained all its guns on him, Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan will now be getting ready to take on detractors in the party.
Though the official faction made use of Mr Achuthanandan during the campaign to get votes, it was evident from the words of party secretary Pinarayi Vijayan that their animosity against him is intact.
Denying the existence of a ‘VS factor’ in the elections, Mr Vijayan said LDF leaders got rousing reception only because they were representatives of a party and a coalition. Again, Mr Vijayan subtly expressed displeasure at the ‘one-man show’ in the elections by saying that practice of printing photographs of a living leader along with that of the candidate was unheard of in the party.
Mr Achuthanandan’s photos appeared on majority of the campaign materials of the LDF. Likewise, when the CM found fault with police officers for not expediting the probe into the ice-cream parlour sex racket case, the party secretary said the officers were “exceptionally brilliant”.
All these are signs of the impatience brewing in the official faction against the Chief Minister, who paid scant regard for the party during the campaign and spoke only about his personal priorities.
However, Mr Achuth-anandan’s popularity has driven a wedge in the official faction, especially in the Kannur lobby.
Many stalwarts like central committee member E.P. Jayarajan have openly declared that VS will be the chief minister if the LDF is elected to power again, contrary to what Mr Vijayan had said.
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