Kochi Corporation elections: LDF to bet big on seniors

KOCHI: The upcoming elections to the Kochi corporation will see the CPM fielding some of its most experienced leaders to wrest power in the civic body after having languished in political wilderness for a decade. The party had lost to the Congress-led UDF in two back-to-back civic polls.

C M Dinesh Mani, a former mayor, C K Manisankar, who had a stint as deputy mayor, and  M Anilkumar, formerly chairperson, town planning committee, are among the prominent faces from the CPM district leadership expected to be fielded by the party to take on the Congress in the coming elections, a source said. 

“Though the district committee has given a green signal to Anilkumar to contest from Elamakkara division, the district committee will take a final decision on the other two senior party leaders on Tuesday after consultations with the state committee. Since the prevailing political climate in the corporation favours the LDF, we have decided to field candidates who are capable of taking on the reins of the mayoral post,” said a source in the CPM district leadership. It is learnt that the CPM, which almost finalised the process of candidate selection, is awaiting the state secretariat nod to field the senior leaders such as Dinesh Mani and Manisankar. Most probably, the names of candidates will be announced after the district secretariat meeting scheduled for Tuesday.

“According to the party decision, those who had been fielded twice, will not be given the ticket this time. In the Kochi corporation, strong candidates are needed to fight the Congress. So exceptions will be made in the case of some candidates. Since the party wants a young leadership, Anilkumar will be projected as the mayoral candidate. The party has already given a positive nod for the same but the state secretariat has to take the final decision,” the source said. 

When contacted, Manisankar said it is the party state leadership which has to take the call on candidate selection. “Last time, the choice of candidates for the polls had created some issues. Some rebel candidates played a major role in thwarting the LDF victory. The political atmosphere is positive for the LDF as the candidate selection has been done without room for complaints. We will come out as winners,” he said.

However, the CPM district leadership’s decision to leave out K J Antony,  Opposition leader in the outgoing corporation council, from the list of probable candidates has created a ruckus within the party.

Antony, a two-time councillor, had played a major role in leading the LDF fight in the UDF-ruled corporation   “According to the party’s decision, those who have contested twice will not be considered again. But several candidates whom the party have chosen are third or fourth-time councillors. It will be unfair if the party fails to give a seat to the senior leader,” said a CPM councillor who requested anonymity. 

Antony told TNIE that he will wholeheartedly accept the party’s decision. “I haven’t received any intimation from the party on candidate selection. If the party asks me to contest, I will do so. If they don’t want to field me this time, I will accept it as well. For us, the party’s decision is paramount,” he said.