Putting an end to all speculations, the CPI has decided to field sitting MLA C Divakaran from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency.
Chittayam Gopakumar is another sitting MLA in the list. Gopakumar who is representing Adoor constituency in Patthanamthitta district in the legislative Assembly and has been chosen to contest from the Mavelikkara constituency in Alappuzha.
Editor of the party mouthpiece Janayugam daily Rajaji Mahew Thomas will contest from Thrissur. The party had won the seat in the last election and CN Jayadevan is the incumbent MP.
PP Suneer will contest from the Wayanad seat. Suneer was district secretary of Malappuram. Nilambur, Vandur and Eranad Assembly constituencies in Malappuram fall under Wayanad Loksabha constituency.
In Thiruvananthapuram, the names of several leaders including Kanam Rajendran and General Secretary of National Federation of Indian Women - the women's wing of the CPI Annie Raja had been doing the rounds as probable candidates. Since the Congress will field incumbent MP Shashi Tharoor, it had become imperative for the CPI to make sure a prominent candidate is fielded.
In the 2014 elections the party was slammed for fielding Bennet Abraham as its candidate.
The allegation was that Bennet was a nominee of the Church and had paid for his seat.
He was pushed to the third position, coming after BJP's O Rajagopal in the election. A three member committee appointed by the party had later found out that fielding Bennet was a huge mistake. The panel also recommended disciplinary action against three senior leaders for backing the candidature of Bennet. Ironically, C Divakaran is one of them.
The BJP will also a field a prominent candidate from Thiruvananthapuram considering its strength in the constituency. This will pave way for a tough triangular contest in the constituency. Divakaran was minister of Food Supplies in the VS Achuthanandan government, from 2006 to 2011.
The party State Executive meeting that was held at the party headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday finalised the name of the candidates.
The CPI is the second largest constituent in the Left Democratic Front, after the CPI (M).
However, the party has not officially announced its candidates. “The State Executive meeting has finalised the candidates list. We won’t officially announce the names until it is approved by the National Executive. The National Executive meeting will be held on March 5, 6 and 7. After that State Executive will be held on March 8, the official announcement will be held after that,” CPI State Secretary Kanam Rajendran told TNM.
Since only four names have been suggested and as per the precedence there is little chance for any change to be made by the National Executive.