Alappuzha: Kerala Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac may not contest the Assembly Elections to be held in the state in a few months.
Isaac has won four elections to the Legislative Assembly. He has been the finance minister for 10 years, first in the V S Achuthanandan cabinet (2006-11) and then in the current Pinarayi Vijayan dispensation (since 2016).
The chances of Isaac entering the fray for the fifth time are slim. Sources say discussions on who will represent Alappuzha assembly constituency in place of Isaac is already on in the CPM circles.
"Twenty years is a long period in electoral politics and it is up to the party to decide if I should contest or not," Isaac told Manorama News.
However, he could contest for the fifth time from Alappuzha if the party leadership strongly feels that given the continuing financial crisis and the significance of his pet KIIFB projects Isaac himself should helm the finance ministry if the Left Democratic Front returns to power.
Otherwise, a newcomer may get a chance in Alappuzha, where the CPM had won with a majority of 31,032 votes in the previous assembly election.
Likely replacements
The name of KT Mathew is doing the rounds as likely replacement for Isaac. He was a member of the central committee of the Students' Federation of India and a joint secretary of the state unit of the Democratic Youth Federation of India. He is currently a member of the CPM's Mararikulam local committee.
CPM Alappuzha district secretary R Nasser is another possibility apart from P P Chittaranjan, the Matsyafed chairman who is also a member of the party's district secretariat.
