Achuthanandan, on the other hand, trained his guns at Vijayan, saying he believed that the Lavalin case involved corruption and Vijayan should be removed from all party posts till he is cleared of all the charges. He is learnt to have argued that the party should not shed its stated position against corruption, but sources said the politburo is not likely to go back on its stand in the case.

The first day of the special politburo, which was attended by all members barring West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, heard the views of all the members on the Lavalin case. Source said the organisational problems in the state unit, an euphemism for the continuing infighting, would come up for discussion on Sunday.

With Achuthanandan sticking to his position that he would not settle for anything less than the removal of Vijayan and his opposition camp gunning for his blood, the politburo is caught in a bind. Central leaders, however, expressed the confidence that the divided Kerala house would be put in order by the politburo.

The CPM central committee, which met here last month, had asked the politburo to find ways to end the wrangling. It had concluded that the disunity in the Kerala CPM, stemmed from the faction fight between the Achuthanandan and Pinarayi camps, had an adverse impact on the party’s prospects in the elections.