THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPM is learnt to have decided to field youth leader Jaick C Thomas for a consecutive third time from Puthuppally where by-election is scheduled for September 5. The formal announcement of his candidature will be made in Kottayam after the party district committee meeting to be attended by state secretary M V Govindan on Saturday, sources said.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will spearhead the election campaign. He will personally campaign in Puthuppally in two phases, the sources said. The CPM state secretariat that met in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday zeroed in on Jaick considering his familiarity in the constituency, sources said.
Jaick who had contested against former chief minister Oommen Chandy in 2016 and 2021 had brought down the Congress titan’s winning majority to below 10,000 votes in the last elections - a commendable feat considering Chandy’s larger than life image in the constituency that he represented for 53 years.
‘Candidate to file nomination paper on Aug 17’
“Jaick possesses a strong understanding of the constituency and its voters. Like the UDF candidate, Jaick enjoys a distinct sympathy factor in Puthuppally. Lack of development in the constituency and the controversy over providing treatment to Chandy will be the key subjects of discussion in Puthuppally,” a CPM leader from Kottayam told TNIE.
The LDF mandalam convention is slated for August 16, and the candidate will file nomination paper on August 17, the sources said.
Though his candidature has not yet been officially announced, Jaick has been active in the constituency. He notably countered the campaign to portray Oommen Chandy as a saint, asserting that Puthuppally has only one saint-Holy Geevarghese Sahada. “Does the Congress hold a different opinion?” Jaick asked.