With less than three weeks for the Kerala Legislative Assembly election a clear picture on the electoral battle has emerged as the major contestants for all the constituencies, except two, have been announced by their respective parties or political fronts.
The Left Democratic Front announced the candidates for all the 140 constituencies a few days ahead of the United Democratic Front and the National Democratic Alliance.
The Congress candidate for Dharmadom is yet to announced and the Muslim League too is yet to name one for Perambra. It is still not known whether the Congress would field its own candidate at Dharmadom against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan or only back the mother of the dead Walayar girls. A section of the local Congress leaders want the party's own nominee here.
The Indian Union Muslim League, contesting on 27 seats, has already announced its candidates in 26 constituencies. The nomination of its candidate in Perambra is expected any time.
The NDA named the candidates for the pending three seats on Wednesday. On these three seats -- Karunagappally, Kollam and Mananthavady - BJP candidates will be in the fray. The BJP had announced the names of 112 of its 115 candidates on Sunday and the rest was revealed on Wednesday. Later it took over a few sewats allotted to ally the BDJS.
In the LDF, CPM is contesting on 86 seats, CPI on 25, Kerala Congress (Mani) on 12, Janata Dal (Secular) in 4, and LJD, NCP and INL in three constituencies each. One seat each has been given to the Congress (S), RSP (Leninist), Kerala Congress (B) and Janadhipathya Kerala Congress.
Congress, on Sunday, had announced its candidates for 86 seats and on Tuesday the party announced six more candidates, taking its total to 92. One more could be added to the tally if the Congress names its person for Dharmadom.
Earlier, the All-India Forward Bloc, a part of the UDF in Kerala, had refused to pit its secretary G Devarajan against the chief minister in Dharmadom. Subsequently, Congress announced it will take over the seat, but uncertainty persists with the entry of the mother of Walayar girls, whose identity is still withheld over privacy concerns related to suspected sexual abuse of her dead daughters. The UDF has decided to back K K Rema of Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) in Vadakara. Rema is the wife of slain RMP leader T P Chandrasekharan.
In the UDF, apart from the Congress and the League, Kerala Congress (Joseph) will contest on 10 seats, RSP in five, and NCK in two, while CMP and Kerala Congress (Jacob) got one seat each. Though Malampuzha was given to the Bharatiya National Janata Dal, Congress later took the constituency back and announced its candidate.
In the NDA, the BDJS will be contesting in 21 seats, while Anna DMK will seek the mandate from two seats and Kamaraj Congress and C K Janu's Janadhipathya Rashtreeya Sabha will contest on one seat each.
Anna DMK and Kamaraj Congress will be contesting under BJP’s poll symbol.
Here is the list of major candidates for all the 140 constituencies:
