KOZHIKODE: 24 hours after actor-director Ranjith expressed interest publicly to contest from the Kozhikode North assembly seat on a CPM ticket, stiff opposition from within the party has forced him to withdraw from the race. A section of district leaders were against his candidature sidelining sitting MLA and popular leader A Pradeep Kumar. Gauging the mood, Ranjith himself informed the party leadership on Wednesday that he is withdrawing. “Pradeep Kumar is the best man for Kozhikode North. He has more victory potential. I will campaign for him,” Ranjith said.
While the CPM district secretariat meet held on the day did not mention the director’s name, the leaders opposing the move presented their case in the presence of central committee member E P Jayarajan. Their argument is based on the better winnability factor of Pradeep Kumar, especially if KSU state president K M Abhijith and BJP state general secretary M T Ramesh come as rivals. But sources maintained that the disgruntled leaders felt the move to replace Pradeep Kumar was deliberate, to avoid his rise among the rank and file if LDF retains power. No decision was taken at the party level to seek the willingness of Ranjith, who was approached by a central committee member with the support of a top district leader, sources said.
A state committee member has shot off a letter to the party leadership against considering Ranjith. “If Thomas Isaac and G Sudhakaran can be considered for another term and Raju Abraham for a sixth consecutive term, what’s the issue in considering Pradeep Kumar for a fourth time?” asked an opposing leader.
The director’s name was not taken in the district secretariat meeting as a mere mention would invite the question, ‘who authorised approaching Ranjith?’. Under the circumstances, Pradeep Kumar is most likely to contest again in Kozhikode North after getting the state secretariat’s consent.
Another surprise is the name of P Sathidevi in Koyilandy. Name of M Mehboob is also doing the rounds for Koyilandy. Gireesh John and Linto Jose are in the list of possible candidates for Thiruvambady. Meanwhile, CPM district secretary P Mohanan told TNIE that the party has not decided any candidate in any seat. “The media is fixing candidates and the media itself is saying that there is issue over it. I have nothing to say about that,” he said.