Thiruvananthapuram: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) may begin bilateral talks with the Communist Party of India on Thursday over the sharing of seats for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls even though the former is not keen to part with the second seat. The CPM hopes to placate the CPI by sharing an RS seat.
The CPI hopes that if an agreement is reached with the CPM, the candidate for the Rajya Sabha election can be finalised with the approval of its state executive committee which is meeting on March 15.
The elections for three Upper House seats in the Parliament that are set to be vacant from Kerala will be held on March 31. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is poised to win the two seats, which it currently holds, considering its strength in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. The opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) is capable of retaining the lone seat which is set to be vacated by Congress leader AK Antony.
The CPM, which leads the LDF political alliance which is running the Kerala state government, will nominate its candidate for one Rajya Sabha seat, and is open to commence talks with other constituent parties over the second seat. The names of youngsters like VP Sanu and AA Rahim are doing the rounds in the CPM for one seat.
CPI is the second-largest constituent party in the LDF. Its state secretary Kanam Rajendran and other senior party leaders are leaving for New Delhi on Friday to attend its national leadership meetings, beginning from March 12.
Of late the CPI has been openly castigating the CPM over a few decisions over the LDF government.
Who will get the second seat
The CPM may convey to Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD), its LDF ally, that the latter should not raise a permanent claim to the Rajya Sabha seat which was allotted to its president MV Shreyams Kumar just because his father, MP Veerendrakumar, was holding the seat when he crossed over to the LDF from the UDF.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), another LDF member, is staking its claim for the second seat for sending its state president PC Chacko to Rajya Sabha.
4 LDF parties staked claim: Kodiyeri
CPM State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has confirmed that four LDF parties have staked a claim for the Rajya Sabha seat.
"The LDF would take a final decision after examining all these claims. CPI, LJD, JD(S), and NCP have staked a claim for the seat. The CPM would take a decision on its candidate after the completion of talks with the constituent parties, Kodiyeri said.
Congress yet to begin formal talks
No formal talks have begun in Congress over the selection of its nominee to the Rajya Sabha seat it is sure to win. Though many senior leaders are lobbying for nomination, young leaders are pressing for a fresh face in the polls.
Youth Congress State president Shafi Parambil has already demanded that the seat should not be given to anyone who wants to make Rajya Sabha a resting place. He said the party should give a chance to fresh faces based on their ability and qualification.
