CPI(M) veteran V S Achuthanandan to be next CM of Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, May 15 (UNI) Eightytwo-year-old veteran communist V S Achuthanandan will be the next Chief Minister of Kerala.

The state committee of the CPI(M) unanimously elected Mr Achuthanandan to head the government, the party said in a statement here.

The statement said the state committee meeting today, presided over by senior leader M A Baby, was attended by CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat and polit bureau member Sitaram Yechuri. State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan proposed the structure of the Cabinet, which was approved by the state committee unanimously.

The Left Democratic Front which is meeting here on May 17 would finalise the list of ministers from other constituents.

Eightytwo-year-old Achuthanandan, a two-time Leader of the Opposition in Kerala, was given the mantle to head the government as he was generally considered to be the architect for the spectacular victory of the Left Democratic Front in the three-tier Assembly elections.

The LDF got 98 out of the 140 seats, throwing the Congress-led United Democratic Front out of power.
According to party sources, though there existed a consensus on the issue of chief ministerial candidate, there was a heated debate on the list of ministers and the portfolios to be allotted to them. The Chief Minister was unlikely to get the crucial Home portfolio and as per indications, Mr Kodiyeri Balakrishnan emerged as a strong contender for the post.

The sources said the CPI(M) was likely to get nine ministerial berths in the 16-member Cabinet and the remaining would be shared by the front constituents. However, a final decision on the strength of the Cabinet would be taken only at the LDF meet.

The ministry was likely to be sworn-in on May 18, the sources said.

Though the results were announced on May eleven, the reported factionalism within the CPI(M) was said to be the reason for the delay in finalising the list of ministers. The decision of the State Secretariat, which met yesterday, in allowing eight of its members to become ministers also invited strong criticism.

Though Mr Achuthanandan was the star campaigner for the front, the party is controlled by state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, who is projected to be a major critic of the former. The faction loyal to Mr Vijayan wanted to ensure that all the plum posts in the Cabinet be given to his supporters.

UNI