Kerala Assembly Elections: Mukesh wins first round

KOLLAM: Actor Mukesh has won the first round of his real life  battle for the  Assembly seat  with the CPM district secretariat confirming his candidature from Kollam dashing the hopes of veteran  sitting MLA P.K. Gurudasan.  

The secretariat meeting held here on Tuesday in the presence of state committee member M.V. Govindan rejected Mr Gurudasan’s  name after finding him unfit due to old age and sticking to the decision not to field a candidate who has won twice.  

The district secretariat witnessed opposition from many party members who supported Mr. Gurudasan. The final word was conveyed by Mr Govindan, who is in charge of the district.

It is learnt that politburo member M.A. Baby, who had appointed Mukesh as the chairman of Sangeeta Nataka Acakemi during his last tenure as culture minister,  had taken special interest in fielding him.  Mukesh had also participated in the road show conducted for Mr Baby during the last Lok Sabha elections.

The district committee had also suggested the names of state committee member K. Varadarajan  and journalist R.S. Babu for Kollam, but they were rejected by the state secretariat.

The decision to field Mukesh was  first announced in a meeting held under the presidentship of state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. Mukesh, a CPI supporter, will contest as an independent  backed by the Left.