KOCHI: Three sitting MLAs, two experienced campaigners and four new faces. When the CPM announced its candidates for nine seats for Ernakulam district, the tally looks like a mix of youth and experience. Out of the total 14 constituencies in Ernakulam, the CPM has given five seats to its allies.
Among the candidates announced by the party on Wednesday are sitting MLAs Antony John (Kothamangalam), M Swaraj (Tripunithura) and K J Maxi (Kochi). However, another sitting MLA and senior leader S Sarma was not given another term.
Instead of Sarma, the party is fielding K N Unnikrishnan in Vypeen. He is a member of the CPM district secretariat. In 1988, he was elected as a councillor from Perumanoor division under the Kochi Corporation. Party top brass believes that his familiarity with Vypeen constituency will help the party retain the seat which was represented by Sarma in the previous two terms.
The remaining three new faces will be contesting as Left independents. The surprise entry to the list was Dr J Jacob, an orthopaedic surgeon, who will be contesting from Thrikkakara. The doctor, who has expertise in management of orthopaedic trauma and sports medicine, has also worked at General Hospital, AIMS, Fatima Hospital and Medical Trust Hospital.
For wresting Ernakulam constituency, the CPM has selected Shaji George, the state general secretary of Kerala Latin Catholic Association (KLCA). With this, the party is hopeful of making an impact among Latin Catholic voters, which is crucial in the constituency. He is also a publisher, who owns Pranatha Books, which has published more than 300 books in Malayalam and English.
Another surprise entry is Shelna Nishad, who will be contesting as CPM Independent from Aluva, which is known as a traditional UDF fort. An architect by profession, the 35-year-old is also the youngest CPM candidate in the district. “It was the people-friendly initiatives of the LDF that attracted me. It is with the full support of family and friends that I am entering polls.
And as a newcomer, my biggest strength is that I am representing a political front which has come up with various welfare programmes for the people,” she told reporters here.
Senior leader and CPM state secretariat member P Rajeev is one of the popular faces among the leaders in Kochi. Rajeev, who excelled as an active member of the Rajya Sabha, is also a recipient of the Sansad Ratna award in 2016.
Another name that came up for Kalamassery seat, from where Rajeev is contesting, was that of trade union leader K Chandran Pillai. There were reports that supporters of Pillai were campaigning against Rajeev’s candidature. However, brushing aside all rumours, it was Pillai himself, who launched Rajeev’s election campaign on Wednesday, soon after the candidature was announced.
In Kunnathunad, the CPM has opted for P V Sreenijan, a former advocate of Kerala High Court. He had contested from Njarakkal in 2006. He was an active worker of the Congress party then. However, due to differences with Congress, he left the party. He was given CPM membership in 2018.