V S will be the Opposition Leader

Sunday 15 May 2011: A meeting of the CPM secretariat scheduled to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday here will determine the office bearers of CPM Legislature party. A meeting of all CPM MLAs is likely on Wednesday to choose VS as the leader.

Outgoing Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan is most likely to be the next Opposition leader of Kerala. His third innings as the leader of Opposition has been cleared by the CPM central leadership.

Sources said a meeting of the available politburo in New Delhi on Saturday unanimously found that VS factor was one of the major reasons for the party’s good show in Kerala.

Potitburo member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan will be the deputy leader of Opposition. “The earlier apprehensions about Kodiyeri Balakrishnan emerging as a contender to VS are almost over now.

With the kind of performance he delivered, there is no question of the party looking for an alternative name,” said a senior party leader. He said the secretariat meeting will also decide on complaints about party’s poor performance in some states. The party is also keen to cash in on the differences likely to crop up in the UDF.