New Delhi, May 16 (IANS) The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Monday named former Kerala chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan as the new opposition leader in the southern state. In West Bengal, the leader of opposition will be Suryakant Mishra, party sources said.

 
 The decisions were taken at a politburo meeting of the party. The question of Prakash Karat stepping down as party general secretary did not come up, said politburo member M.K. Pandhe.
 
 There has been speculation that several politburo members, especially from  West Bengal, were critical of Karat's leadership, particularly after the party was voted out of West Bengal after 34 years and lost Kerala too, albeit narrowly.
 
 Former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee did not attend the politburo meeting, the first after the CPI-M led fronts lost the two vital states.
 
 The politburo decided to hold the central commitee  meeting from June 10 to 12 here.