The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Left Democratic Front (LDF) wing in Kerala, plans to seek three more seats to contest in the upcoming assembly elections in the state.
RJD state general secretary Varughese George told the media after a leadership meeting on Saturday that the LDF should give the party more seats considering its social base and performance in recent elections. The meeting was attended by RJD state president MV Shreyams Kumar among others.
Mr. George said the other seats should be in Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur and Kozhikode. In the 2021 polls, RJD contested from Kalpetta in Wayanad, Vadakara in Kozhikode and Koothuparamba in Kannur. It won only from Koothuparamba.
Mr George recalled that when the party was seeking more seats ahead of the previous parliamentary polls, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, the then state secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), had asked his leaders to settle for three seats in view of the inclusion of the Kerala Congress (M) in the LDF. He promised to consider the RJD’s demand in the next elections, Mr. George claimed.
However, during recent bilateral talks with CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan, LDF convener TP Ramakrishnan and CPI(M) politburo member A Vijayaraghavan, the RJD was informed that the status quo would be maintained this time. Mr. George claimed that the party was playing a key role in the victory of LDF candidates in various constituencies across the state. It could win one-third of the seats contested in the recently held local polls, in which the LDF’s vote share fell to an all-time low. Keeping all these factors in mind, the RJD would like to “reopen” talks within the LDF and with the CPI(M) for additional seats, he added.
Published – March 7, 2026 7:59 PM IST
