The Communist Party of India (Marxist) will likely field former Health Minister of Kerala KK Shailaja from the Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency for the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections. The party had received backlash from the public after the newly elected Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan excluded her from his council of ministers after the party returned to power in 2021.
Shailaja, as the health minister, had played a pivotal role in leading the state’s efforts to tackle the outbreak of Nipah virus and the Covid-19 pandemic. She was also featured in the cover photo of The Vogue and was selected as the Woman of the Year by the magazine in 2020.
Pinarayi’s decision to drop KK Shailaja though she secured a high margin victory from Mattannur in Kannur was met with huge criticism. The CPI(M) justified the move stating that 81 out of the 88 State Committee members gave approval.
Former Finance Minister of Kerala Thomas Issac, who was also dropped by CPI(M), is expected to contest from Pathanamthitta Lok Sabha constituency and actor Mukesh from Kollam. AM Ariff, who was the only CPI(M) candidate to be elected in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, would contest again from Alappuzha.
Other possible CPI(M) candidates are: V Joy from Attingal, Joyce George from Idukki, KG Shine from Ernakulam, C Ravindranath from Chalakudy, K Radhakrishnan from Alathur, M Vijayaraghavan from Palakkad, KS Hamza from Ponnani, V Waseef from Malappuram, Elamaram Kareem from Kozhikode, MV Jayarajan from Kannur, and MV Balakrishnan from Kasaragod.