The Hindu : Experience rules LDF candidates list

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 22, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Experience rules LDF candidates list

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, FEB. 21. The Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) has finalised its list of candidates for the Lok Sabha election giving weight to experience and offering little by way of experimentation.

Names of the LDF candidates were announced by the front convener, Paloli Mohammed Kutty, at a news conference attended by leaders of various constituent parties here today. The RSP leaders who are unhappy because of non-allotment of the Kollam seat to them, were conspicuous by their absence. The Congress(S) leaders also stayed away from the press conference giving the impression that the minor partners are not exactly happy with the seat-sharing exercise in the front.

The LDF has re-nominated eight of its 10 members in the last Lok Sabha. The seats that the LDF had won last time, but would see new faces in the coming poll are Kasaragod and Vadakara.

The following is the LDF line-up: P. K. Vasudevan Nair (Thiruvananthapuram), Varkala Radhakrishnan (Chirayinkeezhu), P. Rajendran (Kollam), Chengara Surendran (Adoor SC), C. S. Sujatha (Mavelikara), K. S. Manoj Kurisinkal (Alappuzha), Francis George (Idukki), K. Suresh Kurup (Kottayam), P. M. Ismail (Muvattupuzha), Sebastian Paul (Ernakulam), Lonappan Nambadan (Mukundapuram), C. K. Chandrappan (Thrissur), S. Ajayakumar (Ottapalam SC), N. N. Krishnadas (Palakkad), P. P. Suneer (Ponnani), T. K. Hamsa (Manjeri), M. P. Veerendrakumar (Kozhikode), P. Sathi Devi (Vadakara), A. P. Abdulla Kutty (Kannur) and P. Karunakaran (Kasaragod).

The only debutant in the list is Mr. Manoj Kurisinkal, who is a surprise choice of the CPI(M) for Alappuzha. Ms. Sathi Devi, a lawyer by profession, had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly election in 2001. The only other woman candidate in the LDF line-up is Ms. Sujatha, chairperson of the Alappuzha district panchayat. The two heavyweights in the list are the former Chief Minister, P. K. Vasudevan Nair, and the former Union Minister of State for Finance and Mathrubhumi managing editor, Mr. Veerendrakumar. The LDF line-up has one more link with the media. Apart from being a member of the CPI(M) Central committee, Mr. Karunakaran is the general manager of the party organ Deshabhimani.

Announcing the names of the LDF candidates and briefing reporters about deliberations at the LDF panel meeting, Mr. Mohammed Kutty said Mr. Nambadan and Dr. Paul would contest the poll as LDF-supported independents and Dr. Kurisinkal as a CPI(M) candidate. He brushed aside the suggestion that Dr. Kurisinkal has been chosen to represent the CPI(M) in Alappuzha as the leader of a communal outfit.

On the absence of RSP leaders at the news conference, Mr. Mohammed Kutty said they could not be present because they had to leave for Kolkata this afternoon to attend the RSP national executive committee meeting. Regarding reports that the RSP was unhappy because of the front leadership's decision not to return the Kollam seat to it, the LDF convener said though every party would want to field its candidate and put across its argument to the electorate, it may not be possible to do so. He was confident that the RSP would take an active part in the poll campaign and the LDF would be able to function as a cohesive unit despite such `minor' problems.

The CPI State secretary, Veliyam Bhargavan, assistant secretary, Panniyan Ravindran, the Kerala Congress (J) chairman, P. J. Joseph, the Janata Dal (Secular) general secretary, N. M. Joseph, the NCP State general secretary, A. K. Saseendran, and the Kerala Congress (Secular) general secretary, Jacob Thomas Arikupuram, attended the news conference.

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