West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee skipped the CPI-M's two-day politburo meeting beginning today in Delhi on health grounds as party sources scotched rumours about any political reasons behind it.

CPI-M sources said that the Chief Minister, who had just recovered from viral fever, was advised by doctors not to take any immediate strain. This had led the state leadership to ask him to stay back in the city.

Dismissing rumours doing rounds in political circles that Bhattacharjee was deliberately avoiding the meeting, sources said, the CM had been administered antibiotics to overcome the viral infection as he was feeling weak.

"There is not much to read in his illness," sources said.

This is the second time after the Lok Sabha elections that Bhattacharjee would not attend the politburo meeting in Delhi. He had skipped the chief ministers' conference convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in August.

CPI-M state Secretary and politburo member, Biman Bose, who has already left for Delhi, had said yesterday that since Bhattacharjee is not keeping well, he has been advised to stay back and attend office.