Politburo divided over VS,Buddha may continue

As the CPM party congress draws to a close,there is uncertainty over the induction of former Kerala chief minister V S Achuthanandan into the politburo one of the highest decision making bodies of the party. It is learnt the politburo,which met on Sunday,was divided over the induction of VS who was removed from politburo in 2009 while former Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee may continue to be in the body.

The CPM party congress on Sunday decided to limit the terms of secretaries right from the general secretary to secretary at the lowest rung to three terms. An amendment to this effect was passed by the party congress. According to the amendment,a person who has completed three terms as general secretary can be re-elected for a fourth term if the central committee takes a decision to that effect with a three-fourth majority. This means,Prakash Karat if he is re-elected as the CPM general secretary on Monday will get a third term,and after three years,in a special situation,he can get a fourth term. Sources said Karat will be elected as the general secretary on Monday. The central leadership,it is learnt,has come to an understanding over the re-election of Karat.

Sources said when the amendment to limit the terms came up for voting,four delegates voted against and two abstained. It is learnt,an amendment to fix an age limit for members in top decision making bodies like the central committee and politburo was rejected. The amendment moved by K N Balagopal was to fix an age limit of 80. He also wanted fixing of age limit for CMs.

Sources said a section of the politburo among them Tripura CM Manik Sarkar,Biman Basu and Sitaram Yechury favoured VSs induction into the politburo but the Kerala leadership dominated by his rival Pinarayi Vijayan was against his induction. Sources said proposals like making VS a special invitee or permanent invitee is being explored. The central committee will meet on Monday to take a final call.

Sources said that CITU leaders A K Padmanabhan and Tapan Sen are expected to make it to the politburo. Leader of Opposition in Bengal Suryakanta Misra is likely to get into the politburo.