Congress candidate Sruthy mingles with a local man while campaigning for the upcoming local body elections in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. | Photo credit: PTI
Various fronts in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation are rushing to finalize their candidate lists ahead of the announcement of the local polls in the state. While the Congress party was the first to announce its first list of candidates, the district committee of the Communist Party of India (CPI(M)) met on Thursday to finalize its candidates. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also finalized its candidates.
The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is expected to announce its candidates soon after the election is announced, with the CPI(M) taking a share of 75 seats out of the total 101, followed by the Communist Party of India (CPI) with 17 seats and the rest of the alliance partners sharing the remaining seats. According to sources, the CPI(M) is expected to field a mix of young and old candidates.
Among those whose names are being considered by the CPI(M) are former mayor and secretary of Vanchiyoor area K. Sreekumar, former councilor and secretary of Palayam area Vanchiyoor P. Babu and former councilor and secretary of Vilappil area RP Sivaji. The name of SP Deepak, district committee member of the CPI(M) and former general secretary of the Kerala State Child Welfare Committee is also doing the rounds. The party will not announce any candidate for mayor before the election.
The BJP, which plans to retain a significant number of its assembly members, also has to accommodate leaders like Maheswaran Nair and Thampanoor Satheesh, who have left the Congress in recent years. Sitting councillors, including VV Rajesh and MR Gopan, are expected to contest, though most of them will have to vacate their existing wards due to changes in the classification of reserved seats.
Rebellion in Nemom
Meanwhile, the Congress seems to be facing a revolt in Nemom division over the selection of local body candidates.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) General Secretary Manacaud Suresh has submitted his resignation as the president of the Nemom Central Committee over the selection of Nemom Shajeer as a candidate.
However, Congress President K. Muraleedharan, who is spearheading the Congress campaign, dismissed Mr. Suresh’s claims and said the Congress would not change any of the candidates that had already been announced.
Published – 06 Nov 2025 21:17 IST
