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Communist Marxist Party (CMP) Thiruvananthapuram assembly campaigner C. P. John, a UDF ally, shares a lighter infinitesimal with UDF leaders portion coating predetermination publicity graffiti connected a partition adjacent the District Congress Committee office, astatine the commencement of his Assembly predetermination run successful Thiruvananthapuram connected Wednesday. | Photo Credit: JAYAMOHAN A.
All the 3 large governmental fronts look to beryllium drowned successful indecision erstwhile it comes to officially declaring their candidates for the prestigious Thiruvananthapuram Assembly constituency. While the hold connected the portion of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) tin beryllium attributed to the circumstances extraneous to the party, the United Democratic Front (UDF) has been grappling with interior friction and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is inactive narrowing down its prime of candidates. The LDF has been nursing hopes that Antony Raju, the incumbent MLA of LDF-ally Janadhipathya Kerala Congress, who was disqualified pursuing his condemnation successful an evidence-tampering lawsuit dating backmost to 1990, volition get a favourable verdict from the higher courts. However, with the Kerala High Court refusing to suspend the condemnation of the erstwhile Transport Minister, the beforehand has been scrambling to place a suitable replacement. Although Mr.Raju is learnt to person suggested a mates of names, the beforehand is insistent connected having a campaigner with assured winnability. In the weeks pursuing Mr.Raju’s conviction, determination person been speculations astir the CPI(M) taking implicit the spot and fielding an Independent. However, the enactment chose to fto its state support the sole spot that it is presently holding and hold for the higher tribunal verdict, which has present turned unfavourable. The Kerala Congress (M) had besides staked its assertion for the seat, though it was not been capable to zero successful connected a suitable candidate. The Congress’s determination to manus implicit the spot to C.P.John, wide caput of UDF-ally Communist Marxist Party (CMP), has not gone down good with erstwhile Health Minister V.S.Sivakumar, who won from the constituency twice, successful 2011 and 2016, earlier losing to Mr.Raju successful 2021. Though the enactment has attempted to placate Mr.Sivakumar by offering the Aruvikkara seat, his supporters person pointed astatine his power among the assorted spiritual and caste communities successful the Thiruvananthapuram constituency arsenic a origin to beryllium considered. The CMP, connected the different hand, leans connected the spot of its ain past to laic assertion to the seat. M.V. Raghavan, who formed the CMP aft expulsion from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], had won from the constituency mode backmost successful 2001. The constituency had somewhat antithetic contours backmost then, erstwhile it was known arsenic Thiruvananthapuram West. This volition beryllium the archetypal clip successful 2 and a fractional decades that a Congress campaigner volition not beryllium contesting successful the seat. In the lawsuit of the NDA, the Bharatiya Janata Party, which was a marginal subordinate successful the constituency till a decennary ago, made its beingness felt for the archetypal clip successful 2016. That year, it fielded cricketer Sreesanth, starring to an summation successful ballot stock from 10.76% to 27.54%. The ballot stock remained the aforesaid successful 2021 too, erstwhile G.Krishnakumar contested from the seat. Despite the limitations that the BJP faces successful the constituency which has a partly-coastal character, it realises that a stronger campaigner tin instrumentality the enactment to the adjacent level.
Published - March 18, 2026 09:01 p.m. IST
