E-Paper
Stage set for Kerala polls: Metro Man, Chandy figure in BJP and Cong lists
The contestants in Kerala's electoral arena are almost clear with more than 95 per cent of the seats declared by all political parties.
Metro man E Sreedharan, former chief minister Oommen Chandy, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and actor Suresh Gopi figure in Kerala candidate list of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released on Sunday.
The BJP has named 88-year-old E Sreedharan from Palakkad. Though the party wanted to field him from an urban constituency in Kochi, he preferred Palakkad district where he had his education and grew up, party leaders said.
The seat is now being held by young Congress leader Shafi Parambhil. BJP state president K Surendran will be contesting from two seats, Mancheswaram in north Kerala and Konni in Pathanamthitta district. Rajya Sabha MP and actor Suresh Gopi has been fielded from Thrissur. In the April 6 assembly election, the stage is set for a fierce three-cornered contest after all three major alliances released their lists.
The BJP declared candidates for 112 of the 115 seats it is contesting for the 140-member legislative assembly.
Also read: The political importance of Kerala
Chandy is seeking re-election from Puthupally constituency in Kottayam district which he held for more than half a century (51 years). Similarly, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala is contesting from his sitting seat Harippad in Alappuzha district.
Congress alliance called the United Democratic Alliance (UDF), comprising five other parties, declared candidates for 85 seats of the 91 it is contesting. The remaining 49 seats have been left for the allies. The Congress, in which at least 55 per cent of the candidates are new faces, triggered protests at many places.
Party headquarters in the state capital witnessed an unusual protest after Mahaila Congress state president Lathika Subhash, who was denied a seat, tonsured her head. She has also resigned from all posts but she said she will continue to work as a party worker.
“My leaders have let me down badly. I have tonsured my head in protest,” she said. In tears, she said the party always put women in high esteem but always ignored them during seat distribution.
“I came to the party at the age of 16 and now I am 56. Now I don’t think the party can do justice to women. Even 10 per cent of seats are not given to women. My protest is for all women,” she said. But state president Mullapally Ramachandran later said she was keen to contest from Ettumanoor (Kottayam) but the seat went to Kerala Congress (Joseph) during seat distribution.
“We are upset that we could not accommodate her. In coalition politics certain sacrifices are necessary,” said Ramachandran in Delhi after releasing the list. Chandy also underplayed the protest saying it would not affect the party's prospects.
Similarly, senior BJP leader Shobha Surendran was also denied a seat though the central leadership was keen. “I have no complaints. I will work hard to for my candidates,” she later said. She was sidelined for more than a year after a feud with state leaders. She, however, took a dig at the state president who is contesting from two seats.
The Congress has tweaked the norm of not alloting seats to the MPs in the assembly elections to name party MP from Vatakara K Muraleedharan. He has been named from Nemom in Thiruvananthapuram, the lone sitting seat of the BJP. Earlier, the party high command had insisted that a senior leader should contest from Nemom where former Governor Kummana Rajasekharan is contesting on the BJP ticket. Of the 91 seats the party is contesting, the Congress has announced candidates for 85 while 6 will be announced later, the PCC chief said.
The ruling Left front alliance called the Left Democratic Front led by the CPI(M) had declared a list for all 140 seats last week. CPI(M), which announced its list on March 10, is contesting 85 seats, six less than the main opposition party, the Congress.
With this, the contestants in Kerala's electoral arena are almost clear with more than 95 per cent of the seats declared by all political parties. The BJP is contesting the most number of seats among any political party in the state.
