Karunanidhi is CM in Tamil Nadu, Buddha in Bengal

New Delhi, May 13 (UNI) DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi today took over as Chief Minister at the head of a minority government in Tamil Nadu as the CPIM) Polit Bureau cleared the name of Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee for the Chief Ministership to lead the seventh consecutive Left front Government in West Bengal.

Octogenarian CPI(M) leader V S Achuthanandan is all set to become the Chief Minister of Kerala and a final decision in this regard is likely to be announced after the CPI(M)'s state committee meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on May 15, party sources said.

With Mr N Rangasamy being elected as the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader in Pondicherry, the stage is set for the installation of a minority government in the union territory.

In Asom, a Congress-led coalition government is expected to be sworn in soon with Mr Tarun Gogoi being the frontrunner for the Chief Ministership.

In Chennai, Mr Karunanidhi, heading a 31-member Ministry, was sworn in as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for a record fifth time.

Governor Surjit Singh Baranala administered the oath of office and secrecy to Mr Karunanidhi and his Cabinet colleagues at a function at the Nehru Indoor Stadium here at 1100 hrs.

The massive crowd burst into cheers as the octogenarian leader took the oath.

Meanwhile in New Delhi, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau held a five-hour meeting after which it asked the party's Kerala state committee to meet on May 15 in Thiruvananthapuram to approve the name of the next Chief Minister of the state while clearing Mr Bhattacherjee's name for the Chief Ministership of West Bengal.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat said he did not foresee any difficulty in deciding the name of the Chief Minister of Kerala and expressed confidence that a unanimous decision would be taken on May 15.

CPI (M) sources said Mr Achuthanandan is set to become the Chief Minister of Kerala and a final decision in this regard is expected to be announced after the party's state committee meeting in Thiruvanthapuram on May 15.

In Pondicherry, with Mr N Rangasamy's election as the CLP Leader, the stage is set for the swearing-in of a minority government.

In the 30-member Territorial Assembly, the Congress has only ten members leaving it with no choice but to form government with the support of the alliance partners.

Political analysts say the sailing will be smooth with the Congress heading the state and Central governments and the DMK leading the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu.

However, they do visualise a realignment if and when the relations are strained between the DMK and the Congress. The Assembly has three independent members and three from the Puducherry Munnetra Congress (PMC), a break away group of the Congress.

Eds: here pick up suitably from related series.

UNI/TEAM/AT VC1906