Even as preparations for the upcoming assembly elections are gathering pace, the Left Democratic Front seems to have almost locked in its candidate for most of Kottayam’s constituencies.
Cooperation Minister VN Vasavan is all set to seek re-election from Ettumanur, while the party’s state committee member K. Anilkumar will contest again in Kottayam. At the same time, CPI(M) secretariat member KM Radhakrishnan is gearing up to make his electoral debut in the highly contested Puthuppally constituency.
Official sources reveal that the list of candidates proposed by the Kottayam district committee has already received the approval of the state unit. After this approval at the state level, the recommendations were communicated to the mandalam committees. After completing these procedural checks, the district essentially cleared its runway for the campaign.
The State Secretariat expects the final national list of candidates soon, probably after the official announcement of the election schedule by the end of the week.
“The LDF candidates have already hit the ground running and are leaving no stone unturned by meeting local dignitaries, visiting religious and community centers and networking with leaders of key organisations,” confirmed a top LDF leader.
For instance, Mr. Anilkumar recently met Archbishop Mar Mathew Moolakkattu of Knanaya and NSS General Secretary G. Sukumaran Nair, signaling a well-set effort to consolidate influence.
Meanwhile, the CPI has also finalized a candidate for Vaikom, its only seat in the district, where CPI executive councilor P. Pradeep will contest. Another key component of the LDF, the Kerala Congress (M), has also finalized candidates for all but one of its five seats.
“Incumbent MLAs N. Jayaraj (Kanjirappally), Job Michael (Changanassery) and Sebastian Kulthungal (Poonjar) will seek re-election, while party president Jose K. Mani is all set to fight again in Pala,” the KC(M) leader noted.The candidate for Kaduthuruthy, however, remains undecided.
Strategically, the LDF is looking to repeat its performance in the last election, where it captured five of the nine constituencies in the district, long considered a UDF stronghold. LDF leaders indicate that even if there is a minor setback, they are confident of securing at least three seats this time. “We are confident of retaining all the five seats and are eyeing Pala, where we faced an unexpected setback last time. If the local body poll trends continue, expect a neck-and-neck contest in this election,” the CPI (M) leader said.
Published – 10 March 2026 20:14 IST
