The CPM announced a list of 83 candidates, including nine independents, for the 2021 Assembly elections ignoring the local uprisings in constituencies like Kuttiyadi, Ponnani and Ranni.
Kuttiyadi and Ranni, both sitting seats of CPM, has been handed over to Kerala Congress (Mani). In Ponnani, P Nandakumar, a national-level CITU leader, has been chosen brushing aside the sustained and vigorous protests mounted by the local CPM cadres in Ponnani. Down south in Aruvikkara, the more popular choice of V K Madhu, the former Thiruvananthapuram district panchayat secretary, was dumped in favour of G Stephen, who is CPM's Kattakada area secretary.
The CPM and independents backed by it will actually contest from 85 constituencies. Candidates of two constituencies, Manjeshwaram (Kasaragod) and Devikulam (Idukki) where talks are still on, will be decided later. The CPM acting state secretary A Vijayaraghavan, while announcing the list, said the party had sacrificed seven of its seats, including five sitting seats, to accommodate new allies KC(M) and Lokatantrik Janata Dal.
"The candidate list was prepared keeping in mind a continuation of the development works under the LDF government," Vijayaraghavan said.
Before announcing the list Vijayaraghavan also lambasted the Congress and BJP over targeting the ruling LDF using the gold smuggling scam.
In what is seen as a sign of the CPM's confidence, the party that is attempting a historic second term has kept out some of its veterans and top performers in favour of new faces.
Almost strictly applying the two-term rule, the CPM has struck out 33 sitting MLAs from the candidate list. This includes five ministers: finance minister T M Thomas Isaac, PWD minister G Sudhakaran, industries minister E P Jayarajan, education minister C Raveendranath and culture minister A K Balan.
Matsyafed chairman P P Chitharanjan will replace Isaac in Alappuzha. H Salam will come in place of Sudhakaran in Ambalappuzha. K K Shailaja will contest from Jayarajan's Mattannur. In Balan's Tirur, CPM will back an independent Gafoor P Lillees.
There will be eight candidates from the CPM state secretariat, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan (Dharmadom) and three ministers, K K Shailaja (Mattannoor), T P Ramakrishnan (Perambra) and M M Mani (Udumbanchola). The other state committee members are: M V Govindan (Taliparambu), K Radhakrishnan (Chelakkara), P Rajeev (Kalamssery) and K N Balagopal (Kottarakkara).
There will be 12 women among the candidates and four below the age of 30 (Jaick C Thomas, K M Sachin Dev, Linto Joseph, P Mithun). Of the 83 candidates announced, 42 are degree holders and 28 of them are lawyers.
In terms of age, there are four candidates below the age of 30, eight between the ages of 30 and 40, 13 in the ages between 41 asnd 50, 33 between 51 and 60, and 24 above 60.
The candidates are:
Kasaragod
Manjeshwaram- Yet to be decided
Udma- CH Kunhambu
Thrikaripur- M Rajagopal
Kannur
Taliparamba- M V Govindan
Azhikode- K V Sumesh
Dharmadom- Pinarayi Vijayan
Thalassery- A N Shamseer
Mattanur- K K Shailaja
Peravoor- Zakeer Hussain
Kalliasseri- M Vijin
Payyanur- TA Madhusoodhanan
Wayanad
Mananthavady- O R Kelu
Sulthan Bathery- M S Viswanathan
Kozhikode
Koyilandy- Kanathil Jameela
Perambra- TP Ramakrishnan
Balussery- Sachin Dev
Kozhikode North- Thottathil Raveendran
Beypore- P A Mohammed Riyas
Kunnamangalam- P T A Rahim
Koduvally- Karat Razak
Thiruvambady- Linto Joseph
Malappuram
Kondotty- Suleiman Haji
Nilambur- P V Anwar
Wandoor- P Mithun
Perinthalmanna- Muhammed Musthafa
Mankada- Rasheed Ali
Vengara- Jiji
Tanur- Abdurahman
Thavanur- KT Jaleel
Ponnani- P Nandakumar
Palakkad
Thrithala- MB Rajesh
Shornur- P Mummykutty
Ottapalam- Premkumar
Kongad- K Santhakumari
Malampuzha- A Prabhakaran
Palakkad- CP Pramod
Tarur- PP Sumod
Nenmara- K Babu
Alathur- KD Prasenan
Thrissur
Chelakkara- K Radhakrishnan
Kunnamkulam- AC Moideen
Guruvayur- Akbar
Manalur- Murali Perunelli
Wadakkanchery- Xavier Chittilapally
Irinjalakuda- Dr R Bindu
Puthukkad- K K Ramachandran
Ernakulam
Aluva- Shelna Nishad
Kalamassery- P Rajeev
Vypin- K N Unnikrishnan
Kochi- K G Maxi
Thrippunithura- M Swaraj
Ernakulam- Shaji George
Thrikkakara- Dr J Jacob
Kunnathunad- PV Sreenijan
Kothamangalam- Antony John
Idukki
Devikulam- Yet to be decided
Udumbanchola- M M Mani
Kottayam
Ettumanoor- VN Vassavan
Kottayam- K Anil Kumar
Puthuppally- Jaick C Thomas
Alappuzha
Aroor- Daleema Jojo
Alappuzha- PP Chitharanjan
Ambalappuzha- H Salam
Kayamkulam- U Pratibha
Mavelikara- M S Arunkumar
Chengannur- Saji Cherian
Pathanamthitta
Aranmula- Veena George
Konni- KU Janeesh Kumar
Kollam
Chavara- Dr Sujith Vijayan
Kottarakkara- KN Balakrishnan
Kundara- J Mercykutty Amma
Kollam- M Mukesh
Eravipuram- M Noushad
Thiruvananthapuram
Varkala- V Joy
Attingal- OS Ambika
Vamanapuram- D K Murali
Kazhakkoottam- Kadakampally Surendran
Vattiyoorkavu- VK Prashanth
Nemom- V Sivankutty
Aruvikkara- G Stephan
Parassala- C K Hareendran
Kattakkada- IB Satheesh
Neyyattinkara- K Ansalan
With this, the ruling LDF is all set for the poll battle as major parties in the alliances have declared their candidates for most of the seats just before the Election Commission of India is scheduled to issue the formal notification for the Kerala Assembly Election, 2021.
On Tuesday, the Communist Party of India (CPI), the second biggest party in the LDF, had declared its candidates for 21 out of the 25 seats in its share. The other key LDF constituents Janata Dal (Secular) and the Nationalist Congress Party also announced their candidate lists for the Assembly elections on Tuesday.
Jose K Mani-led outfit of the Kerala Congress on Wednesday announced 12 candidates of the 13 seats that it is allotted for the April 6 polls. The candidate for the Kuttiyadi seat will be announced after discussions with the CPM.
The CPM, the leading party of the LDF, is ahead of its allies in terms of seat share in all districts, except Kottayam district, where Kerala Congress (Mani) has been granted five out of the nine assembly constituencies.
