Tuesday, March 21 2006 15:28 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The CPI(M) Polit Bureau today (Mar 21 2006) met here to review the party's preparations for the Assembly polls in five states against the backdrop of serious differences in its Kerala unit on the leadership issue.

Though senior leaders claimed the meeting discussed poll-related issues in all the five states, the discontent among a section of workers in Kerala over denial of candidature to the Leader of the Opposition in the assembly V S Achuthanandan is understood to have figured prominently during deliberations.

With barely a month left for elections, CPI(M) in Kerala is facing the worst crisis in its history after the official faction led by party state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan decided to drop Achuthanandan and project LDF convenor Paloli Mohammed Kutty as the Front's probable Chief Ministerial candidate.

The decision, taken despite strong sentiments expressed by a sizeable number in the state committee, has sparked protests across the state by loyalists of the 83-year-old leader, who had been spearheading a campaign against "deviationist trends" in the party for quite some time.