The CPM has decided to strictly adhere to the norm of giving seats to anyone who has won twice in a row. Ministers EP Jayarajan, AK Balan, TM Thomas Isaac, G Sudhakaran and C Raveendranath will not contest. EP Jayarajan will soon take charge of the organization. There are indications that PK Jameela, the wife of Minister AK Balan, will be the candidate in the Tharoor seat. The state committee will decide tomorrow whether any of the Lok Sabha candidates should be exempted.
The crucial decision of the State Secretariat to change the permanent faces in the CPM and open the way for new faces. Five ministers will be out of the fray this time as the two-man rule is being strictly adhered to. In this, C. Ravindranath himself withdrew. The Alappuzha district secretariat had demanded that Thomas Isaac and G Sudhakaran be given relief. However, the state secretariat, which convened today, was adamant that no one should be exempted.
Health Minister KK Shailaja will seek the people’s verdict from Mattannur where EP Jayarajan contested. Among the ministers, MM Mani will seek re-election in Udumbanchola, J. Mersikuttyamma Kundara, AC Moitheen in Kunnamkulam, TP Ramakrishnan in Perampra and Kadakampally Surendran in Kazhakoottam. Secretariat members MV Govindan will contest in Taliparamba and Baby John in Guruvayur.
It has been decided that no MLAs including Speaker P. Sriramakrishnan, A. Pradeep Kumar, Raju Abraham and Aisha Potti should be given concessions. Rarely can anyone rule out the possibility of considering a waiver given the local situation in the state committee that meets tomorrow. The state committee will also decide whether any of the contestants in the Lok Sabha elections should be exempted. The state secretariat has decided not to consider those who are continuously contesting the Lok Sabha elections. In that case, KN Balagopal and VN Vasavan are likely to be exempted.
Despite the opposition in the district secretariat, the state assembly is likely to disagree with the decision to field PK Jameela for Tharoor. There are also those in the party who are opposed to contesting Baby John in Guruvayur.
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