Thiruvananthapuram: Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty will not contest the upcoming Assembly elections in Kerala, his party, Indian Socialist Janata Dal (ISJD), a key ally of the Left Democratic Front (LDF), confirmed on Monday.

The party, which was formed after splitting from the Janata Dal (Secular) in Kerala, announced candidates for three constituencies.

Sitting MLA Mathew T Thomas will contest from Thiruvalla in Pathanamthitta district. Meanwhile, Murugadas and Sabu George have been named as candidates for Chittoor in Palakkad and Ernakulam constituencies, respectively.

At a press conference, Krishnankutty said the decision on the Kovalam seat would be finalised by March 17.

“There were long discussions over Kovalam, which we contested in the last Assembly election. Some allies have made claims for the seat. The final decision will be made by Tuesday,” he said.

Krishnankutty said the LDF would return to power as unprecedented development had taken place under the Left government in Kerala. He also said that he would remain active in politics.

This will be the first electoral contest for the party leaders after the formation of the ISJD.

In January this year, leaders of the Janata Dal (Secular) in Kerala merged with the newly formed ISJD following a political crisis triggered by the JD(S) national committee’s decision to join the BJP-led NDA ahead of the 2024 general elections.

On Sunday, CPM announced the list of 81 candidates and CPI named 25 candidates for the April 9 polls. So far, five allies of the LDF including Kerala Congress (M) and NCP announced candidates for the elections.