Congress leader and former MLA KS Sabarinathan will lead the party’s campaign for the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation polls as its mayoral candidate, senior leader K Muraleedharan announced on Sunday.
The party also announced the names of 48 candidates including Sabarinathan for the polls. The State Election Commission is yet to notify the polls though they are expected to be held in November-December.
42-year-old Sabarinathan, son of late Speaker G Karthikeyan and an MLA from Aruvikkara between 2015 and 2021, will contest the municipal corporation polls for the first time.
Sabarinathan’s candidacy is being used by the party to leverage its campaign for power in the 101-member Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation where the Congress currently stands third in terms of councillors behind the LDF and the BJP. In the current council, while the LDF has 52 members, the BJP is the main opposition with 35 councillors and the Congress-led UDF stands third with just 10 members.
“We have picked around 50 candidates for the Trivandrum corporation polls already. Discussions with allies are underway for the remaining seats. UDF wants to put up a strong fight and win power in the municipal council. Sabarinathan’s name has been confirmed and we will think about fielding other senior leaders too,” Muraleedharan told local media.
Sabarinathan, who held key posts within the Youth Congress too, is expected to be fielded from the Kowdiar ward. Though he resides in the neighbouring Sasthamangalam ward, he has to relocate as the ward is reserved for women candidates.
{{/usCountry}}Sabarinathan, who held key posts within the Youth Congress too, is expected to be fielded from the Kowdiar ward. Though he resides in the neighbouring Sasthamangalam ward, he has to relocate as the ward is reserved for women candidates.
{{/usCountry}}Muraleedharan, who has been given charge of the party’s campaign in Thiruvananthapuram, said ward-level rallies will begin in the next few days.
Apart from Sabarinathan, senior leader Johnson Joseph will fight from Ulloor ward, former district panchayat president Subhash from the Kinavoor ward and multiple-time councillor D Anil Kumar from Pettah.