The candidate of the newly-formed Left United Front (LUF) in the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency, M Shajarkhan, became the first candidate to file nomination papers in the state for the upcoming general election.
Left United Front was recently floated by the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP), Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) (SUCI) and Marxist Communist Party of India (United) to contest the Lok Sabha elections.
Shajarkhan, accompanied by LUF workers, submitted his nomination papers before District Collector Biju Prabhakar, who is the Returning Officer around 12 noon.
It was on March 12 that Shajarkhan’s candidature, along with the list of 13 other candidates, was finalised by the LUF.
Shajarkhan, who is a member of SUCI(C) district committee, is the state convener of All-India Save Education Committee, vice-president of Kerala Unaided School Teachers’ Organisation and has also led many people’s movements including the agitation at Vilappilsala.
According to the electoral understanding, the LUF will contest 14 seats with RMP contesting five seats, SUCI(C) six seats and MCPI(U) three. In other constituencies, LUF will support independent candidates.
The candidature of writer Sara Joseph and activist Ambalathara Kunjikrishnan is also doing the rounds, but no final decision has been taken.
“The CPM-led LDF has completely abandoned Leftist ideologies by fielding Bennet Abraham as their candidate in T’Puram. With the exit of RSP, many true Left followers have started identifying with the Left United Front and this will add to our advantage,” Shajarkhan said.
Asked about the influence that TP Chandrasekharan’s murder may have on the election in T’Puram, Shajarkhan said that the recent agitation by K K Rema in the capital city demanding justice for her slain husband had struck a chord among the voters.
“The T P Chandrasekharan murder has made Kerala society sit up and think seriously about condemning political murders engineered by both Right-wing and Left-wing parties. The people want to see a Left-front which stands for peace and not for bloodshed,” he said.
Downplaying the influence of the Aam Aadmi Party, Shajarkhan said that the party was yet to understand real issues that people face.
“They say that they are against corruption but do not know how to tackle it,” he said. “At the national-level, the fight may be between the Congress and the BJP. But here, the people have realised the hollowness of both the parties and will vote for a change,” he said.
Shajarkhan’s election convention will be inaugurated by Revolutionary Marxist Party leader K K Rema on Sunday. The convention will be held at the Press Club Hall at 10 am.