New Delhi: VS Achuthanandan will be the next Chief Minister of Kerala.
It will be the first time that the 82 year old veteran communist will become chief minister.
VS Achuthanandan is a veteran of many political battles. The party almost left him out in the cold, weeks before the assembly elections.
But the old warhorse has once again proved his worth.
In his 60-odd years as a politician, Comrade VS, as he's popularly known, has never been a minister.
In 1996, even though his party won, VS lost the election. The rumour doing the rounds attributed his defeat to internal party politics.
In his youth, VS led a rebellion against the King of Travancore. A staunch Marxist, VS has always projected a larger-than-life image on the political canvas of Kerela.
His colorful rhetorics are a superhit among his loyal followers. VS was among the 32 comrades who left the CPI National Council in 1964 to form CPI (M).
He's been a member of the CPI (M) Politbureau since 1985. First elected in 1967, VS has been elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly four times till now.
He has served as the leader of Opposition in the state assembly since 2001.
Over the last two decades, VS has been targetted by party members from Northen Kerela, who are against the old-school communism of VS.
Interestingly, even this time VS had to fight hard for the party ticket. A rival faction, led by Pinarayi Vijayan, cited the party general secretary post held by VS as a reason why the octogenarian shouldn't be allowed stand for the elections.
Comrades in Delhi, wanting to usher in a progressive look, also agreed. But VS was in no mood for a repeat of 1996.
He declared that his party needed him more then he needed the party. And his victory this time had proved him right.
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