Thiruvananthapuram: The CPM has decided to focus on four of the 12 seats it lost in the previous general election. The party state secretariat has asked the lower units to pay special attention on Kozhikode, Vadakara, Alappuzha and Kollam Lok Sabha seats.
The CPM was shocked to lose the constituencies in 2014. The party does not want to repeat its mistakes this time.
The CPM ushered in the Janata Dal (S) led by M P Veerendra Kumar back to the Left Democratic Front to cash in on the smaller party’s vote share in the Vadakara constituency. Though controversial, the choice of P Jayarajan as the CPM candidate could rally the party cadre, the leadership expects.
The decision of sitting MP and Congress state chief Mullappalli Ramachandran not to contest this time has boosted the morale of the Left camp. On the other hand, the party dreads the entry of K K Rema, the wife of slain leader T P Chandrasekharan.
The LDF has chosen Kozhikode North MLA A Pradeep Kumar as the candidate for the Kozhikode parliamentary constituency to wrest the seat back from Congress leader M K Raghavan. Even in Kollam, the CPM has relied on senior leader K N Balagopal to wrest the seat from the opposition United Democratic Front.
More good news is forthcoming from Alappuzha, where sitting MP K C Venugopal has decided to give way to younger candidates. Aroor MLA A M Arif has a better chance in the parliamentary constituency.
The LDF is expected to wind up the booth-level conventions by March 20. The candidates have started visiting influential individuals and institutions. The party workers have been going from house to house to distribute pamphlets and notices. The LDF candidates are scheduled to go around the constituencies twice.
Meanwhile, the CPM found itself left out of the larger opposition front in Maharashtra and Bihar. The Nationalist Congress Party has rejected the CPM’s demand for the seat of Dindori. The CPM has decided to field its candidate against the NCP candidate.
In Bihar, the party’s demand for Ujiyarpur constituency has not been appreciated by the Rashtriya Janata Dal, which is likely to grant a seat each to the CPI and the CPI-ML. The CPM is likely to walk out of the patch-up.