Kerala local body polls 2025: Various fronts in Thiruvananthapuram Corporation finalise candidates

Ahead of the notification of the local body polls in the State, various fronts in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation are rushing to finalise their candidate lists. While the Congress party was the first to announce its initial list of candidates, the Communist Party of India [CPI(M)] district committee met on Thursday to finalise its candidates. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also finalised its candidates.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) is expected to announce its candidates soon after the election notification, with the CPI(M) taking a chunk 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 dividing 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 Vanchiyoor area secretary K. Sreekumar, former councillor and Palayam area secretary Vanchiyoor P. Babu, and former councillor and Vilappil area secretary R.P. Sivaji. The name of S.P. Deepak, CPI(M) district committee member and former general secretary of the Kerala State Child Welfare Committee, has also been doing the rounds. The party will not be declaring any Mayor candidate before the elections.

The BJP, which is planning to retain a good number of their sitting councillors, also has to accommodate leaders like Maheswaran Nair and Thampanoor Satheesh who had shifted from the Congress in recent years. Sitting councillors, including V.V. Rajesh and M.R. Gopan, are expected to contest, although most of them will have to vacate their existing wards due to changes in reservation seat classifications.

Mutiny in Nemom

Meanwhile, the Congress appears to be facing a mutiny in the Nemom division over the selection of local body candidates.

Manacaud Suresh, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) general secretary, tendered his resignation from the position of the Nemom core committee president over the selection of Nemom Shajeer as a candidate.

However, Congress leader K. Muraleedharan, who is spearheading the Congress’s campaign, dismissed Mr. Suresh’s claims and said that the Congress will not change any of the candidates who have already been declared.