Vijayan (left) and Achuthanandan after the politburo meeting in Delhi on Sunday. (PTI)

New Delhi, July 5: The CPM politburo has decided to take “strong” disciplinary action against Kerala chief minister V. S. Achuthanandan and initiate some measures against rival Pinarayi Vijayan and his camp, sources said today.

The politburo, which witnessed some leaders like Sitaram Yechury seeking a discussion on a corruption case involving Kerala party secretary Vijayan, has hurriedly convened a meeting of the central committee from July 11.

The move to involve the central committee is the clearest signal yet that action is being contemplated and the feud has showed little signs of ebbing despite repeated interventions by the central leadership. In the CPM apparatus, the central committee is the highest decision-making body after the party congress, although the politburo takes key decisions.

The decision to convene the central committee meeting suggests the party is attaching far more gravity to the faction fight between Achuthanandan and Vijayan now than it did in 2007 when both leaders were suspended from the politburo. The suspension decision then was taken by the politburo itself without approaching the central committee.

As the higher authority is being called into the picture now — against the backdrop of a Lok Sabha poll debacle that is also blamed on factionalism — it is possible that Achuthanandan could be removed from the politburo, if the central committee approves. Achuthanandan is the oldest politburo member after special invitee Jyoti Basu.

The sources said the party had not yet taken a decision on whether he would be eased out as chief minister as well. The leadership is proceeding with caution on the subject as Achuthanandan is popular in Kerala because he is considered honest — an asset that has stood him in good stead in the fight against Vijayan who is now facing prosecution in a corruption case involving a power deal with a Canadian company called SNC Lavalin.

The CPM had said the case was politically motivated but Achuthanandan, citing constitutional obligations as chief minister, had refused to echo the party stand.

The politburo looked into Achuthanandan’s conduct and “evaluated” that he defied party discipline by going public with his views on many issues, sources said. The politburo took note of a state committee report after the Lok Sabha elections that talks at length on how the stand taken by the chief minister on different issues affected the party’s performance at the hustings.

The sources said the Prakash Karat-led CPM, grappling with the gravest crisis in the state that elected the world’s first communist government, would also try to strike a balance by taking some “steps” that could affect the Vijayan group.

The sources hinted that the “steps” could include changes in the organisation intended at easing out some Vijayan loyalists. However, the sources did not confirm if Vijayan would be asked to give up the state party secretary’s post.

The sources said politburo members like Yechury, Manik Sarkar and M.K. Pandhe did point out that the party should discuss the Lavalin issue threadbare as it was the first time a politburo member was chargesheeted in a corruption case. The central committee may discuss the Lavalin issue as well.

“The central committee will come up with the final decision on all proposals and suggestions. It means both sides have to face action. To know to which extent, wait till next week,” a party leader said.

“The politburo discussed organisational issues related to the Kerala unit. The politburo decided to convene a meeting of the central committee on July 11-12, 2009, to consider the proposals of the politburo regarding the party affairs in Kerala,” a CPM statement said.

Both Vijayan and Achuthanandan declined comment after the politburo meeting. “The meeting is over. Talk to the general secretary to know what the decisions are,” both said.