Kerala will go to the polls on April 9—just 25 days from now—and the LDF has scored the first political point by announcing candidates for most seats within less than 90 minutes of the election announcement. Kerala has over 2.7 crore voters across 140 Assembly constituencies.
The CPI was the first party to announce its candidates, naming nominees in 25 seats. Notably, the party is fielding all four of its incumbent ministers. Minister K. Rajan has been given an exemption from the two-term norm.
Immediately after the CPI declaration, the CPI(M) announced candidates in 81 seats, including six CPI(M)-backed independent candidates. The party is fielding 56 incumbent MLAs. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will once again contest from Dharmadom.
The CPI(M) is also fielding most of its incumbent ministers. Ten sitting ministers, which includes CM Vijayan, will contest the election. Compared to 2021, the party has fielded more incumbents this time.
In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby had noted that while the party continues to follow its two-term principle, it is also giving importance to the winnability of candidates.
“While adhering to organisational principles—such as not automatically repeating all those who have previously contested—we are also carefully considering the prospects of victory,” he said.
"The final decision to end the Left's misrule will come out through the ballot box ... The people are tired of the Left government," AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal said to reporters on Sunday.
Pointing out that there were very few days of campaigning available as the festival of Vishu fell on April 14—making the first week of April a "holy week"—he also hit out at the government for spending crores on its "huge election campaign".
Among the notable shifts, incumbent MLA K.K. Shailaja has moved from Mattannur to Peravoor, while K.N. Unnikrishnan has shifted from Vypin to Thrippunithura.
The CPI(M) is fielding Minister Veena George again in Aranmula, despite her husband publicly demanding that she should not be fielded.
In Taliparamba, although there was opposition within the district against fielding P.K. Syamala—the wife of party state secretary M.V. Govindan—the seat has ultimately been allotted to her.
The Angamaly seat, which was with the Indian Socialist Janata Dal (ISJD) led by Mathew T. Thomas, has been taken over by the CPI(M). Former MLA Saju Paul will contest from there. In return, the Ernakulam seat will be given to the ISJD.
The CPI(M) is yet to announce candidates in five more seats, including Palakkad—where the party has been pushed to third place over the last two Assembly elections and the recent bypoll.
In Palakkad, where the contest has largely been between the Congress and the BJP in recent years, there is speculation that the CPI(M) may field a candidate from a minority community.
Meanwhile, candidate selection in the Congress continues to remain a tangled affair.
The party is grappling with seat-sharing deadlocks, internal dissent in several districts and a tug-of-war between the state leadership and sitting MPs over candidate selection. According to K.C. Venugopal, the Congress is expected to announce its first list tomorrow, which will be completed "in a day or two".
