VS Achuthanandan supporters on streets, Karat under pressure

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: 'Yesterday, once more', a famous song by Carpenters, may not be familiar to Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan or his CPM followers. But the scenes that have been enacted on the streets today was quite familiar, it was yesterday once more.

Five years ago, VS was denied a party ticket in similar fashion and the cadre came out to the streets to protest. On Wednesday, he was again denied a ticket triggering street protests.

And as last time, the CPM Polit Bureau gave indications that it may have a rethink on the decision of the state secretariat.

VS, who was very vocally leading a anti-corruption campaign against the Congress-led UDF, meanwhile, has gone totally silent. But the supporters of the 87-year-old CPM veteran were not restrained. They took to the streets in many places, shouting slogans hailing Achuthanandan. At his home town Alappuzha, a crowd marched on the streets with a huge cardboard cut-out of the Chief Minister. They included a good number of women who shouted slogans like, "VS is the pearl of the state".

In Kasargode, angry supporters late Wednesday night threw cow dung on the poster of Pinarayi Vijayan, the state secretary of the party responsible for denying Achuthanandan a seat. Black flags were placed in front of the houses of Marxist leaders ranged against Achuthanandan in Kasargode. Achuthanandan has not been seen in public since Wednesday night when he left the party headquarters.

Coming to his support was Communist Party of India State Secretary CK Chandrappan, who said the Left Democratic Front would hugely benefit even if Achuthanandan only campaigned for the April 13 election. "Even if it is said that the seat has not been given on account of ill-health, there could be other reasons also," said Chandrappan, who was the first to hail Achuthanandan when he said this month that he would like to contest if his party fielded him.