Thiruvananthapuram, March 2 With the Assembly elections drawing near, coalition arithmetic within Kerala's ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) has gathered pace.
The Communist Party of India (CPI), the second-largest ally in the Left front, on Monday, decided to drop six sitting legislators who have completed three terms, signalling a generational shift and adherence to its internal rotation norm.
Those denied renomination include Deputy Speaker Chittayam Gopakumar, P.S. Supal, E.K. Vijayan, V. Sasi, E.S. Jayalal and former Minister E. Chandrasekheran.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the party's top leadership here.
In the 140-member Assembly elected in 2021, the CPI had contested 23 seats and won 17, a strike rate the party will be keen to retain even as it recalibrates its slate.
Seat-sharing negotiations within the LDF continued in parallel, with the Communist Party of India-Marxist holding discussions with allies.
The Kerala Congress (M), the third largest ally in the Left Front, has formally staked claim to an additional constituency.
"Yes, we have asked for one more seat than we contested last time," said Kerala Congress (M) Chairman Jose K. Mani.
In 2021, the Kerala Congress (M) had contested 12 Assembly seats.
The spotlight, however, is on the CPI-M, which leads the coalition and is expected to clear its draft candidate list at the State Secretariat meeting on Tuesday.
In the 2021 Assembly election, the CPI-M had contested 75 seats and secured victory on 62 seats.
The lists forwarded by the 14 district committees have been consolidated, but indications suggest several prominent leaders may not feature in the final lineup.
Among those reportedly missing are the former Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, sitting MLA M.M. Mani, and former legislators P. Jayarajan and M. Swaraj.
Politburo member A. Vijayaraghavan is also said to be out of contention.
M.M. Mani in his characteristic style on Monday said he has no clue about the political developments as he was busy with the party work and when asked if he has been dropped from the CPI-M list on health grounds, he added, "other than being diabetic, I do not have other issues. In our party, several leaders are diabetic and K.K. Jayachandran (whose name has been cleared by the district unit in Mani's assembly seat) is diabetic too."
Uncertainty persists over K.K. Shailaja's candidature, amid indications that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is keen on a high profile political contest against the State Congress President and sitting legislator Sunny Joseph, even as she prefers to defend her stronghold.
With Vijayan, 80, cleared by the CPI-M Politburo to lead the party's poll campaign, Tuesday's deliberations are set to underline the balance between continuity and course correction within the LDF.
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