THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The CPM is all set to field a bunch of heavyweights which could include six sitting MPs, three MLAs and two district secretaries in the coming Lok Sabha polls. The party will officially announce its candidates on Saturday, said party state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. Responding to questions, Kodiyeri said none of the Left allies will leave the LDF for getting Lok Sabha seat.
In Chalakudy, though the state leadership was in favour of fielding sitting MP Innocent, as per reports the constituency committee does not seem very keen on the same. The names of Ernakulam district secretary P Rajeev and former Perumbavoor MLA Saju Paul have been suggested.
Contrary to reports, the party Kottayam constituency committee has suggested the name of district secretary V N Vasavan. The name of Sindhumol Jacob is also doing the rounds. Yet another district secretary - P Jayarajan - may also figure in the list as the local leadership favours him for Vadakara.
Three MLAs could be in the fray. AM Ariff could be the candidate from Alappuzha while A Pradeep Kumar has got the support from the constituency committee for Kozhikode.
Similarly, Aranmula MLA Veena George could be the Left candidate from Pathanamthitta.The constituency committees gave its go-ahead to the names of A Sampath in Attingal, K N Balagopal in Kollam, P K Biju in Alathur and Rajeev in Ernakulam. Joice George has been finalised for Idukki. Similarly, Satheesh Chandran (Kasargod), P K Sreemathy (Kannur), M B Rajesh (Palakkad) have reportedly got the nod from the respective committees. The names of P V Anwar and V Abdurahman have been proposed for Ponnani.
The state secretariat to meet on Thursday will give final shape to the candidate list and put it before the state committee for discussion. Once the list gets its final clearance from the central leadership, it would be announced on Saturday.
CPM holds bilateral talks with allies
The CPM held bilateral talks with Left allies, including the INL, LJD, Kerala Congress (Francis George) and the NCP on Wednesday. The JD(S) has openly expressed its displeasure for not getting a seat.
However, the CPM leadership is not keen on giving seats to any of them. “Some of the allies have demanded seats. They have a just demand. A decision would be taken by the LDF meet on Friday. We have no pre-conceived notions about the candidates. Winnability is the sole criteria,” Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said.