Pinarayi Vijayan to be new Kerala CM

The CPM on Friday announced Polit Bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan as the Left Democratic Front (LDF) Legislature Party leader in Kerala, clearing decks for his appointment as the chief minister.

The move also ended possibilities of V S Achuthanandan returning as the chief minister. General Secretary Sitaram Yechury made the announcement at a brief media interaction here. He was flanked by state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and Achuthanandan.

Yechury explained the decision and wound up the interaction but not before lauding Achuthanandan as Kerala’s Fidel Castro. 

He also explained the party’s reason for not choosing the 92-year-old leader for the top job. “Comrade Achuthanandan has been leading us from the front. He’s a warhorse of the



revolutionary movement in India and Kerala....but considering his age and physical limitations today, we’ve come to the decision that Comrade Vijayan will be proposed as leader of the LDF Legislature Party,” Yechury said. 

“The only parallel I can draw from the international revolutionary movement is...he’s like Fidel Castro for Kerala; advising, guiding and inspiring…” he said, hinting at Achuthanandan’s role in future.

The 72-year-old Vijayan, who quit as the party’s state secretary in 2015, returned to electoral politics after 20 years and won from Dharmadam in Kannur district. Achuthanandan won from Malampuzha.

Yechury recalled the “unity” in the party leadership which enabled the LDF to script a thumping victory.