Lok Sabha Elections 2024: CPI confirms candidate on 4 key Kerala seats

The Communist Party of India (CPI) in Kerala declared the final list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections for four seats. Pannyan Raveendran will contest from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency while Annie Raja from the Wayanad constituency.

Lok Sabha Elections 2024: CPI confirms candidate on 4 seats in Kerala anr

Aishwarya Nair

First Published Feb 26, 2024, 4:43 PM IST | Last Updated Feb 26, 2024, 4:55 PM IST

Thiruvananthapuram: The list of Communist Party of India (CPI) candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections was declared on Monday (Feb 26). CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam announced the candidates for all four seats in Kerala. The CPI state council has decided to field Pannyan Raveendran in Thiruvananthapuram, AIYF leader CA Arun Kumar in Mavelikkara, former minister V S Sunil Kumar in Thrissur and Annie Raja in Wayanad.

Pannyan Raveendran is being fielded again to win back the Thiruvananthapuram constituency, where he lost to current sitting Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in the last three elections. Pannyan, who initially stated that he was not interested in contesting, succumbed to the party's pressure. The CPI reckons that the constituency can be recaptured by fielding the leader who last waved the flag of victory in the capital.

The CPI State Council accepted the name of VS Sunil Kumar, who was heard from the beginning in Thrissur. With this, actor and BJP leader Suresh Gopi and TN Prathapan are facing a big challenge. CPI calculates that Sunil Kumar will win back the constituency through his popular image. The CPI is putting forward the pressure strategy by fielding the national leader Anie Raja so that Rahul Gandhi backs out from contesting in Wayanad.

Meanwhile, Mavelikkara is the only constituency where the CPI faced a challenge in the selection of candidates. The state executive accepted the candidature of CA Arun Kumar by rejecting the objection of the district council. The CPI Kollam District Council had prepared a list of three potential candidates including Deputy Speaker Chittayam Gopakumar.

The history of Thiruvananthapuram in the Lok Sabha is intriguing, as it has switched between the Left and the Congress, with the BJP progressively gaining ground over time. The current member of parliament for three terms in a row, Dr. Shashi Tharoor, is still a recurring character in the political story of the constituency. It is one of the most focused seats in the state as the 2024 elections draw near, with the city set up for an exciting three-way race between the Left, the BJP, and the Congress.

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