CPM to Field Prominent Leaders in Kerala in Forthcoming Lok Sabha Polls
Thiruvananthapuram: The ruling CPM in Kerala is planning to field some of its top leaders to wrest the sitting seats of Congress-led UDF in Kerala in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.
The state leadership of the party on Wednesday is believed to have reached an understanding about its candidates for the 15 seats that the party would be contesting. The party has plans to field one of the ministers in Pinarayi Vijayan cabinet, a sitting MP, a Rajya Sabha MP, three former ministers and two sitting MLAs.
Having faced a near rout in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls losing 19 of the 20 seats, the CPM is desperate to improve its tally in the Lok Sabha this time around.
Popular leaders like former health minister K K Shailaja, former finance minister T M Thomas Isaac and former education minister C M Raveendranath, K Radhakrishnan who is the minister for devaswom and SC/ST, Backward Classes welfare, district secretaries of Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur and Kasargod respectively are likely to be in the fray.
As per the seat-sharing formula in the ruling LDF, of the 20 seats CPM contests 15, CPI - 4 and Kerala Congress (Mani - 1.
The top leadership of the party have reached a consensus on the following names which were recommended by the respective district committees. However, these names would be taken up for further discussions with the state and central leadership before the final stamp of approval is given for their candidature.
The tentative list of candidates for the CPM is as follows;
Thiruvananthapuram CPM district secretary V Joy - Attingal, actor and sitting MLA M Mukesh – Kollam, former finance minister T M Thomas Isaac - Pathanamthitta, Joyce George – Idukki, sitting MP A M Ariff - Alappuzha, K J Shine - Ernakulam, former education minister Prof C Raveendranath - Chalakuddy, CPM politburo member A Vijayaraghvagan – Palakkad, SC/ST and Backward Classes Welfare Minister K Radhakirshnan - Alathur, K S Hamsa - Ponnani, DYFI state president V Waseef - Malappuram, Rajya Sabha MP Elamaram Kareem - Kozhikode, former health minister K K Shailaja - Vadakara, CPM Kannur district secretary M V Jayarajan - Kannur and Kasargod district secretary M V Balakrishnan – Kasargod.
Even though the CPM is part of the India alliance at the Centre and the seats won by the UDF would also go in the alliance kitty, the Marxists want to improve their independent strength in the Parliament which has seen a drastic slump since 2004. The party also wants to have a better say in national politics.
With the CPM being electorally decimated in West Bengal having no representation in the 294-member state assembly and Lok Sabha either and Tripura inconsequential with just two LS seats, the party’s only hope is Kerala.
The CPM came to power in West Bengal last in 2006 winning 176 of the 294 seats. But the party has faced a massive downfall since then. In 2021 assembly polls the CPM vote share came down as low as 3 per cent which makes any immediate revival of the party in Bengal near impossible.
Similarly in Lok Sabha polls in 2004, West Bengal gave as many as 26 seats and Kerala 12 with the CPM tally in Parliament going up to 43. However, in 2019 the CPM tally in Lok Sabha was reduced to just 3 including two seats from Tamil Nadu thanks to the DMK alliance.
