THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - The factional feud in the Kerala unit of the Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M) will be one of the points to be discussed in the party politburo meeting to be held in Delhi Friday, party sources said Wednesday.

The factional fight between the party boss, state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, and the chief minister, V.S. Achuthanandan, has cost the party dearly in the Lok Sabha polls. The CPI-M led Left Front managed to win just four out of state’s 20 seats.

According to a close aide of Achuthanandan, the chief minister likely to demand that the politburo asks Vijayan to step down after being chargesheeted in a corruption case.

Vijayan was named as the seventh accused by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the corruption case where he is accused of wrongly awarding a tender to a Canadian company when he was the state power minister 12 years ago.

But with Vijayan having a brute majority in the 15-member state secretariat and 84-member state committee, his supporters have decided that they will raise the issue of Achuthanandan constantly going against the party decision.

The relationship between the two groups hit a new low when Governor R.S. Gavai June 7 gave nod to prosecute Vijayan. While the party leaders and state ministers lashed out at the governor’s sanction, calling it “politically motivated”, Achuthanandan said that the governor had done nothing wrong.

Achuthanandan is also expected to raise the issue of he not being invited to the birth centenary celebrations of E.M.S. Namboodiripad, one of tallest Communist leaders, held Saturday.

In response to a question Wednesday on why he was not invited and is being ignored by the party, Achuthanandan said: “All such issues are being looked into.”

Achuthanandan and Vijayan have been locked in a bitter turf battle. The infighting started in 2006 when Achuthanandan contested the assembly election after initially being denied a ticket. Achuthanandan then went on to become the chief minister.