Kerala CPM war out in open; VS Achuthanandan may resign from his post as Opposition leader

NEW DELHI: The 50th anniversary of the foundation of the CPI(M) could not have been more ironical, if not disastrous. After the virtual decimation of the party in West Bengal and amidst glaring isolation in national politics, party's other major (faction-ridden) state unit in Kerala on Sunday evening stood on the verge of an internal explosion with the state party leadership’s official resolution declaring its most popular leader – VS Achuthanandan (referred to as VS) as “anti-party”.

News reports from Kerala suggested Achuthanandan, 91, could resign from his post as Opposition Leader on Monday in protest although he may not quit the party. On Sunday, amid high drama, the Prakash Karat-led, equally divided party politburo gave into the state leadership’s pressure by rejecting VS’ demand to omit that objectionable reference to him in the party document.

If 50 years ago, to be precise in end-1964, VS was part of the 32 members of the National Council members of the united Community Party to walk out and found CPM, the same VS has now walked out of his party’s state conference, triggering talks about another split. The developments reached a flash-point when a meeting of the “available politburo members,” in Alappuzha to attend the conference, ended up projecting an equally divided house by agreeing to go with leadership reference to VS in the resolution.