It's Pinarayi for CM, Achuthanandan is Castro of Kerala: Yechury
Follow It is official. CPM state committee formally proposed Politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan as the new Chief Minister of Kerala. The newly elected legislators of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) will assemble to formally announce Vijayan as its leader on Sunday.
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The CPM state secretariat had taken the decision on the next Chief Minister at a meeting held on Friday morning.Â
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Flanked by a grim-faced VS Achuthanandan and CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balkrishnan, the CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury announced the decision at a press conference in the afternoon. The decision was taken unanimously, he said. The state committee of the party also backed the decision."We have unanimously decided to propose Pinarayi Vijayan as the leader of the LDF legislative party," Yechury said.
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The party considered the age and other limitations of VS Achuthanandan while entrusting the top job to Vijayan.
 "Comrade VS is like Fidel Castro for Kerala. Just like Fidel is to Cuba, advising, guiding and inspiring us, he will be guiding us... All others we will discuss later," Yechury said on the role of Achuthanandan in the scheme of things for the CPM and the LDF. Â
 "Comrade VS is like Fidel Castro for Kerala. Just like Fidel is to Cuba- advising, guiding and inspiring us- he will be guiding us... All others we will discuss later," Yechury
Watch the video of the press briefing by Sitaram Yechury:Â
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The presence of Achuthanandan at the press conference was self explanatory. The CPM wants to put all the speculations to rest. The 92-year-old leader, however, did not speak at the press conference. Just  after the conference, he left the venue quickly.Â
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 It may be recalled that the veteran Communist was widely tipped for the post of Chief Minister if the LDF wins a majority. He was also the star campaigner of the left in Kerala. The question of who will be the CM candidate of the party had cropped up several times during the poll campaign and the CPM had stated that the party would take a call after the elections. The presence of both Achuthanandan and Vijayan had given rise to lot of speculations.
