Kerala - Kochi   

Candidates to file papers from today

KOCHI: The line-up of the candidates for the civic polls in the district would become clear in a couple of days. The candidates can file their nominations from Monday, according to the election schedule.

Though all the major political parties and fronts contesting the election have almost finalised their candidates, they are holding back the announcement as some names may have to be reconsidered at the final moment.

The candidates, who have got the green signal from their political leadership, have started campaigning at the personal level. House visits, attending the meeting of party members and supporters and meeting the prominent citizens in their respective divisions form part of the first phase of the campaign schedule of the candidates.

Graffiti has also started appearing on walls in many parts of the city.

While the party members who are contesting the election are using the election symbol allotted to their parties on the graffiti, the independent candidates have asked the graffiti artists to leave enough space on the walls for painting the symbol later. The symbols of independent candidates will be allotted by the Election Commission later.

The LDF has finished the seat-sharing process and all the 74 candidates contesting the election to the Kochi Corporation and the 26 to the Ernakulam district panchayat will assemble at Rajendra Maidan on Tuesday at 5.30 p.m, said C.K. Manisankar, the CPI (M) district member. A public meeting will also be held in this relation, he said.

The CPI (M) is contesting in 59 seats in the 74-member-strong corporation. The party had 34 members in the outgoing council.

The party has decided to field nine outgoing councillors in this election too. All the LDF candidates will file their nomination papers on September 30, he said.

Besides the CPI (M), the CPI will be contesting in eight seats, Janatha Dal and NCP in two each and RSP, Kerala Congress and Congress (S) in one seat each as LDF partners.

At the same time, the UDF is likely to announce is candidates at a press conference on Monday.

Discussions will be held late on Sunday to decide on three party candidates and the final list will be released on Monday, said A.B. Sabu, the UDF leader of the outgoing council.

Congress will be contesting in 59 seats and nearly 10 outgoing councillors will seek people's mandate again in this election. The Indian Union Muslim League will contest in seven seats followed by Kerala Congress (M) in four, Socialist Janatha in three, Kerala Congress (Jacob) in one seat as UDF partners.

The BJP, which has one councillor, in the outgoing council, will focus on 10 seats in this election where the party has winning chances. Though the party could win only one seat last time, there were a few seats in the city which the party lost by a margin of below 200 votes, said A.N. Radhakrishnan, general secretary of the party.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

2,500 people take part in Kochi marathon
Baking unit to set up solar power station
Quality control for fish sought
A captivating dance recital
State tourism sector to look east for more inflow
Plea to implement plantation study committee report
Various events mark World Heart Day observance
Free software group holds annual meet
Candidates to file papers from today
Fire breaks out at shop
Green Building Week fete ends
Heavy rain in city
Tourist arrivals expected to grow by 20 per cent
In Kochi Today

Copyright © 2010, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu