Kannur, March 3 With the CPI(M)’s Kannur district committee clearing nominees for 13 of the 16 Assembly seats in the district, the message is unambiguous, the levers of power remain firmly with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and State Secretary M.V. Govindan.
Several heavyweight district leaders E.P. Jayarajan, M.V. Jayarajan and P. Jayarajan have been left out, a move that has raised eyebrows in a district long regarded as the party’s ideological and organisational citadel.
Vijayan, as expected at 80, will seek another mandate from his home turf, Dharmadom.
The most debated decision, however, is the shifting of former Health Minister K.K. Shailaja from her Mattannur stronghold to Peravoor, a traditional Congress bastion.
In parallel, P.K. Shyamala, wife of Govindan, has been fielded from Taliparamba, the sitting seat of the State Secretary.
The development has drawn comparisons with 2021, when acting secretary A. Vijayaraghavan saw his wife R. Bindhu not only secure a debut win but also enter the Cabinet as Higher Education Minister.
Equally surprising is the dropping of Speaker A.N. Shamseer from Thalassery, where he was eyeing a third straight win.
In his place, the party has nominated Karayi Rajan, currently out on bail in a murder case, a choice that is likely to hand ammunition to the Opposition.
At Payyannur, considered a CPI(M) walkover, sitting MLA T.I. Madhusoodanan has been retained despite a simmering controversy over alleged irregularities in a martyrs’ fund collection flagged by expelled local leader V. Kunjikrishnan, who may now contest with the Congress' backing.
Of Kannur’s 16 seats, the CPI(M) contests 13, leaving three to Left allies.
In 2021, the Left Democratic Front swept 14 seats, conceding just two to the Congress. This time, while organisational discipline appears intact, undercurrents suggest that candidate selection, more than Opposition strength could shape the political battle in Kerala’s most storied red bastion.
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