CPI in Kerala has decided not to give tickets to MLAs who have completed two consecutive terms and plans to give adequate representation to women and youth as candidates for the upcoming assembly polls.
However, the party's state executive has been empowered to make exemptions in the two-term norm if it felt that putting up a candidate for the third time was essential to safeguard the party's interest, CPI state secretary Veliyam Bhargavan said at a press conference on Sunday.
The CPI state council, which concluded its two-day sitting on Saturday, felt it was time that the LDF cranked up its campaign machinery at the grass-roots level.
The party wanted the seat-sharing exercise to be completed at the earliest so that the Front could launch a united campaign in the state to put the Congress-led UDF on the defensive.
Bhargavan said the party had demanded a few more seats in addition to the 24 seats it contested last time. At that time, the CPI did not contest any seat in Kannur and Pathanamthitta districts.
Considering the party's growth over the last few years, it had every right to seek seats in those areas, he said.
{{/usCountry}}Considering the party's growth over the last few years, it had every right to seek seats in those areas, he said.
{{/usCountry}}Bhargavan said CPI had no regrets for opposing ties with the DIC(K) party led by K Karunakaran, as it was essential for upholding the political and moral principles of the LDF.