CPM considering heavyweights for Lok Sabha polls in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: In a bid to avoid a rout it faced in 2019, the ruling CPM in Kerala is considering heavyweights like former finance minister T M Thomas Isaac and former health minister K K Shailaja as candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

In 2019, CPM suffered a major embarrassment as all its candidates, except one, got defeated in the Lok Sabha elections. The national party status of the CPM is also at risk and hence the party seems to be making all out efforts to win maximum seats in this election. Kerala, being the lone state where the party is now in power, the CPM is aiming to win the maximum seats from here.

As the preliminary discussions on candidate sections are on, Issac is being considered as a candidate at Pathanamthitta, while Shailaja, who was even a CM probable in 2021, is being considered for Kannur and Vadakara seats. Devaswom minister K Radhakrishnan, who has a clean image, is being considered for Alathur in Palakkad.

Actor-turned politician and second time MLA of Kollam M Mukesh is considered for Kollam seat, while sitting MLA and party Thiruvananthapuram district secretary V Joy and popular MLA V K Prasanth are being considered for Attingal in Thiruvananthapuram.

Rajya Sabha MP Elamaram Kareem and A Vijayaraghavan and are also among those being considered by the CPM for the fray.

A clearer picture will emerge about the candidates being fielded after the CPM state committee meeting to be held this week. The final list of candidates is likely to released on February 27, party sources said.

CPI, the second largest party in the left-front, is also considering senior leader and National Federation of Indian Women general secretary Annie Raja at Wayanad, where Congress top leader Rahul Gandhi is likely to be in the fray for the second consecutive term.

Former minister V S Sunil Kumar, who is a popular leader of Thrissur, is tipped to be the left-front candidate at Thrissur where the BJP is having high hopes of winning maiden seat for the saffron party from Kerala by fielding actor-turned politician Suresh Gopi in the fray.