THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the list of potential candidates being finalised by secretariat in various districts coming under criticism, the CPM leadership is under pressure from area and local committees to have a rethink on many prospective contestants.
Lists of potential candidates prepared by the district secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram and Pathanamthitta districts have already come under fire. In Thiruvananthapuram, a cross section of party leaders at the local and area level are against district secretary Kadakampally Surendran contesting the polls.
They say that if Kadakampally was so keen on fighting elections he should have opted out from the secretary’s post during the last district conference. At a time when the BJP is making a strong bid to clinch victory in at least two constituencies; Nemom and Vattiyoorkavu by fielding veteran leader O Rajagopal and BJP state president Kummanam Rajashekharan, they say CPM cannot afford to have its top organisers tied up in their respective constituencies.
A big section of lower rung leaders believe that the BJP which pushed Congress to third position becoming the main opposition in City Corporation, cannot be taken lightly. They say experienced leaders like Kadakampally along with other district secretariat members should concentrate on organising meticulous election campaign.
There are differences in the district party over the names of T N Seema whose RS is yet to end, Katakada Sasi, Antony Raju and Anavoor Nagappan for Vatiyoorkavu, the from Parassala. Differences have also surfaced in Pathanamthitta district where many local and area committee leaders are up in arms against the list prepared by secretariat. Of the three seats to be contested by CPM;Ranni, Konni and Aranmula, there is no unanimity in the latter two constituencies.
While Raju Abraham who won four consecutive elections since 1996, is likely to be fielded for the fourth time. However, many potential candidates are being considered in Konni and Aranmula constituencies.
There are minor hiccups in candidate selection in Palakkad, Kozhikode, Thrissur, Kollam and Alappuzha. However, CPM leadership is hopeful of sorting out the issues as there is enough time at their disposal.
