THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The CPI state executive held on Saturday took serious note of the campaign going on in social media projecting former minister V S Sunil Kumar as the party’s candidate from Thrissur parliamentary seat. State secretary Binoy Viswam took a tough stand and told the executive committee that “these campaigns would be considered as a disqualification for the person’s candidature”. Many leaders criticized the campaign carried out before the party national executive and state leadership started steps to determine the candidates. The executive directed that no leaders or workers holding official positions should engage in such activities.
The issue was raised by Food Supplies Minister G R Anil who pointed out a news report published in a Malayalam newspaper about the party’s probable candidate in the Thiruvananthapuram parliament seat.
He criticized the leadership for not taking note of the issues and taking necessary steps to prevent such activities. Following this, other leaders raised the issue related to Thrissur LS constituency.
“Newspapers are saying that V S Sunil Kumar is the CPI candidate in Thrissur. Reports also appeared on local TV channels highlighting Sunil Kumar’s candidature. Social media campaigns are also going on in this regard,” they said.
After Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Thrissur and Suresh Gopi’s continued presence in the cultural capital, there were reports that the latter will be the BJP’s candidate in Thrissur. Congress workers also started a campaign in favour of T N Prathapan.
CPI leaders were critical of Sunil meeting some prominent personalities privately. The state leadership was was critical of Sunil’s silence on the issue.
Candidate selection process
The CPI has decided to enter into the candidature selection process officially. The party has been contesting from four seats in Kerala for the Lok Sabha election- Thiruvananthapuram, Mavelikkara, Thrissur and Wayanad. The party national executive and national council to be held from February 2 to 4 will formulate the criteria for selecting candidates.