Thiruvananthapuram: The CPM on Wednesday decided to field four youngsters for the forthcoming bypolls in the state.
The district secretariat meetings held in Thiru-vananthapuram, Ernak-ulam, Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha chose young candidates; Thiru-vnanthapruam Mayor V.K. Prasanth for Vattiyoorkavu, DYFI state vice presidents K.U. Jenish Kumar, and Manu C. Pulikkal, for Konni and Aroor respectively and Manu Roy in Ernakulam. These names were recommended to the state secretariat which will officially announce the names of the candidates on Friday.
In Kasargod, the district secretariat went for experienced leader like C.H. Kunjambu who is also a former MLA.
The CPM Thiruvanant-hapuram district secretariat decided on Prasanth irrespective of the community equations in the constituency. The party hopes to cash in on the Mayor’s stupendous work in collecting relief materials for the flood affected areas of the state. His leadership was widely appreciated with people giving him the tag of “Mayor Bro”. Prasanth was a big hit on social media with thousands of people following his wo-rk. The district secretariat took the decision in the presence of LDF Conv-enor A Vijayaraghavan who is also in charge of the constituency.
CPM Alappuzha district secretariat met in the presence of party central committee member M.V. Govindan and finalised the name of Manu C. Pulikkal. Apart from being the DYFI vice president, he is also currently district secretariat member of the party, member of fisheries university general council and Youth Welfare Board.
He has held the posts of district panchayat member, SFI and DYFI district president and secretary, Kerala University syndicate member.
Pathanamthitta district secretariat chose DYFI state vice-president K.U. Jenish Kumar. Though the name of M.S. Rajendran also came up during the discussion, the secretariat finally decided to go with the youth leader. Pathamathitta district secretary K.P. Udaybhanu though had a divergent opinion.
In Ernakulam, the district secretariat decided to field veteran journalist K.M. Roy’s son Manu Roy who is a practicing lawyer. The party wanted an independent candidate with wide acceptance in the constituency. Roy fits the bill because of his CPM background and family connections in the constituency. He was magazine editor and general secretary of students union of St Paul’s College and has also been elected to advocates association from the Left panel.
The candidate belongs to Latin Catholic community which has sizable presence in the constituency.
Kasargod district secretariat went for Kunja-mbu. The district leadership had earlier discussed the name of K.R. Jayana-nda who belongs to the linguistic minority.
