The Communist Party of India (CPI) has released its first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Kerala. The CPI, a part of the INDIA alliance at the national level, has announced Pannian Raveendran as its candidate from Thiruvananthapuram, and Annie Raja, the wife of the party’s general secretary D Raja, from Wayanad. Meanwhile, VS Sunil Kumar will contest from Thrissur, and Arun Kumar will represent the party in Mavelikara.
Presently, Shashi Tharoor of Congress represents Thiruvananthapuram in the Lok Sabha, while Rahul Gandhi is the incumbent MP for Wayanad.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is reportedly considering leaving his Wayanad Parliamentary seat in Kerala. Media reports suggest that Gandhi might run for seats in both Karnataka or Telangana and Uttar Pradesh in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Amid ongoing seat-sharing negotiations in Kerala, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) is urging Congress to allocate three seats instead of two. IUML desires to contest from Wayanad, emphasizing its significant Muslim voter base.
In the 2019 elections, despite fielding four candidates, the CPI failed to secure any seats out of Kerala's 20 Lok Sabha constituencies. The Congress emerged victorious in 15 seats, while the Indian Union Muslim League secured two, and the CPI(M), KC(M), and RSP each claimed one seat.