Achuthanandan cautions CPI-M leadership on candidate selection

Former chief minister and veteran CPI-M leader V.S. Achuthanandan has expressed his reservations to the party's national leadership over the manner in which candidates are being finalised for the upcoming assembly polls.

According to sources close to the 92-year-old leader, in a letter to the politburo he pointed out that the outcome of the elections was "very crucial" for the party and nothing should be left to chance, and hence candidate selection should be logical and done with utmost caution.

Balloting in Kerala will take place on May 16.

Achuthanandan feels the party lacks a punch in places like Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Ernakulam as several top leaders like P.K. Gurudasan, C.K. Sadasivan, P. Rajeev, C.S. Sujatha, Aiysha Potti are reported to have been dropped.

In the CPI-M, the accepted norm of selection of candidates is that the names first come from the district committee to the state-level committee, which either clears the list or makes changes and in some cases it is sent back to the district to have a re-look.

The party's selection of candidates in a few places for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls evoked surprise and also came under criticism.

The name of veteran actress K.P.A.C. Lalitha, which was cleared by the Thrissur district committee for the assembly polls, has also come under fire.

The exclusion of Potti for the Kottarakara seat came out in the open by way of posters in some places.

With some time still in hand, Achuthanandan now wants the list to be fully screened by the politburo.