Caste equations delay CPM candidate selection
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The highly sensitive caste equations of Neyyattinkara constituency coupled with the uncertainty in the UDF camp over the ‘fifth minister’ is delaying the selection of the CPM candidate for the by-election.
A high-level deliberation for nearly six hours on Wednesday afternoon at the CPM district committee office here failed to take a decision on the candidate. As the party is in no mood to accept another defeat, after the Piravom by-poll, the CPM is thinking of ‘’out of the box’’ solution and exploring all the possibilities for ensuring a victory to avenge the ‘’traitor.’’ Choosing a stronger candidate formed the core of the deliberations in which many leaders were of the opinion that caste should not be the only criteria for the selection of candidate.
The party is also closely watching the developments in the UDF, especially the fallout in the social and communal domain if a fifth minister from Muslim League assumes office.
The meeting was attended by politburo member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, district secretary Kadakampally Surendran, state committee member M Vijayakumar, Pirappankod Murali, MLAs V Shivankutty, Koliyakkod Krishnan Nair and Parassla former area committee secretary P K Harendran.
Meanwhile, Vaikunta Swamy Dharma Pracharasabha (VSDP), an organisation representing Nadars, one of the prominent castes in the constituency, has cautioned that the UDF will have to face dire consequences if it failed to give Ministership to a Nadar. ‘’The CM had promised us that the fifth minister’s slot is reserved for Nadar. But now they have announced that the fifth minister from Muslim League will take oath along with Anoop Jacob. The decision will prove costly for the UDF for they have not kept the word. We will observe the day of their swearing in as betrayal day,’’ VSDP chairman Vishnupuram Chandrasekharan told ‘Express.’ He recalled the situation in which N Sakthan was made Deputy Speaker after he offered his resignation. ‘’We will consider the situation if we get ditched and vote against the UDF even if Selvaraj, a member of the community, is made its candidate. We will field a candidate to mark our protest if the CPM fields a candidate out of the Nadar community,’’ he said.