Achuthanandan campaigns for Vijayan

CPI-M veteran V S Achuthanandan today campaigned for politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan, who is contesting the Kerala Assembly polls, but the nonagenarian steered clear of any controversial comments.
His campaigning here comes a day after Vijayan, who is contesting from the Dharmadom constituency in Kannur district in the May 16 polls, had stated that the resolution passed by CPI-M against Achuthanandan "still exists".
Vijayan had also said there was no need to link the resolution and Achutanandan's candidature to the polls.
"The decision of the party and resolution remains and will not cease to exist unless it is amended or rejected," Vijayan had said when asked whether the resolution passed by party secretariat in 2015 that "Achuthanandan has anti-party mindset" still exists.

However, Achuthanandan skirted the issue and instead exhorted the large gathering to ensure that Vijayan was elected with an "impressive majority".
"The LDF candidate at Dharmadom is Pinarayi Vijayan. You all should vote for him and ensure that he is elected with an impressive majority," the Marxist veteran said.

Vijayan, a bete noire of Achuthanandan, was not present as he was campaigning elsewhere.
In a Facebook post yesterday, Vijayan had claimed, a section in the media was "creating false reports" that he had termed Achuthanandan as an "anti-party man."
"We are facing the polls without any differences and nobody should think that they can create impediment on that," Vijayan had said.

Slamming UDF, Achuthanandan described the ruling Congress-led UDF manifesto as a "big joke". "I could not control laughing reading the UDF manifesto," he said.
Listing the alleged land grab cases during UDF tenure, he claimed barring the lone woman minister, all other ministers of the Oommen Chandy government were facing corruption allegations and "it is ironical that they are promising corruption free governance. Their manifesto is a bundle of contradictory slogans... One will roll on the floor laughing after reading it."
On the other hand, LDF in its manifesto has promised to bring down prices of essential commodities if voted to power, he said.