Sixty-three is not an age for retirement in Indian politics,certainly not for a Communist,considering the fact that the CPI(M) has fielded 87-year-old Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan to lead the LDF in the Kerala Assembly elections. But CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat begs to differ. I am hitting the age of retirement, Karat said today,in reply to a question on whether he planned to enter the electoral fray. Karats remark is significant as the CPI(M) faces crucial Assembly polls in its two strongholds of West Bengal and Kerala,the results of which could have a bearing on his continuance as party general secretary. Karat has completed two terms as general secretary. The CPI(M)s party congress is set to meet in January next year to elect the officebearers general secretary,central committee and politburo for the next three years. In fact,Karat today steered clear from any poll predictions,stating that the party has not received its assessment from the grassroots as yet. We cannot give an assessment before the end of this month. We will have an assessment from the ground by this month-end when our state units send their reports, he said,responding to queries regarding the partys prospects in Kerala. Likewise,it is too early to give an assessment, he repeated,when questioned about West Bengal. People will judge us by the work of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government (in Kerala), he said. In Bengal,people will judge us based on our record and also the alternative that we present in contrast to Congress and its allies,like Trinamool, he added. Empirically it is true that the ruling party does not return after ruling for five years in Kerala. We are concentrating on breaking this pattern this time, he said,later adding that the party hoped to maintain the pattern in West Bengal. Though it is too early to make any suggestion,we are hopeful. There will be surprises in Tamil Nadu also, he said. The Lefts future is not dependent on one election. We are confident that the Left will continue to play a significant role in the national polity, said Karat at the press conference. WikiLeaks: Met US official While the UPA has maintained that the WikiLeaks revelations are unverified and unverifiable,CPM general secretary Prakash Karat on Friday confirmed he had met a US embassy official during UPA-I,as reported in the cables. I think he wanted to persuade me not to oppose FDI in retail trade and the entry of Walmart into India. Probably,he wanted to probe what our stand will be.He added he had only one meeting with the then deputy chief of mission.
