Kerala poll verdict: After thumping victory, CPM's next challenge is choosing CM

Kochi: With the LDF heading for a victory in the Kerala Assembly polls, the focus of CPM is now on who in the party will head the government. During the campaign, Left Democratic Front (LDF) did not project any leader as the chief ministerial candidate and had said it would be decided after the polls. [caption id=“attachment_2789212” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Former CM VS Achuthanandan. AFP[/caption] Probable candidates for the top slot — party stalwart VS Achuthanandan and politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan — have both got elected with a thumping majority. According to CPM sources, the party leadership will meet in a day or two to elect its legislature party leader and it would be conveyed to the LDF partners, including CPI, NCP and JD(S). CPI said CPM would take a decision on the next chief minister of the state. “As the major partner in the alliance, CPI(M) would take a decision on it. They would communicate it to other partners, including us, and then we would take a joint decision,” CPI Kerala Secretary Kanam Rajendran told PTI, in response to a question on who will be the next chief minister.

The CPI leader, who campaigned extensively in the state, said the legislature party leader of CPM would become the chief minister of Kerala. “Let them take a decision on their legislature party leader. Then we would give our opinion,” Rajendran said. His statement assumes significance in wake of reports that CPM is not clear on who among the two leaders should become the chief minister. 93-year-old Achuthanandan, popular among the masses, contested from Malampuzha in Palakkad district, while 71-year-old Vijayan, who enjoys considerable clout in the state CPM, from Dharmadam in Kannur.