The appearance of hoardings in different parts of the Kannur Parliament constituency featuring P.K. Sreemathy, MP, and her achievements over the past five years lend credence to the reports that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) may field her once more in the constituency in the coming Lok Sabha election.
It is also an indication that the party has already kick-started its groundwork for the election campaign here.
Though the CPI(M) State committee is yet to officially announce its candidates for the Lok Sabha seats in the State, the appearance in the past few days of the hoardings highlighting the works done in the constituency over the past five years could not have been just a happenstance.
The cover photo of her Facebook page with ‘Rising Kannur’ title also carries a catchphrase: ‘Five years and proud achievements’.
The early presence in the campaign front has helped the CPI(M) and the Left Democratic Front (LDF) create an impression that it will rev up its campaign machinery as soon as the candidate is officially announced.
Ms. Sreemathy wrested the Kannur Lok Sabha seat from the United Democratic Front in 2014 by defeating Congress leader K. Sudhakaran by a margin of 6,566 votes.
The electoral setback for the UDF in general and Mr. Sudhakaran in particular was enormous, given the fact that he had romped home from the constituency in 2009 with a huge margin of 43,151 votes. Whether or not Mr. Sudhakaran will be fielded in the constituency to take it back for the Congress is still a matter of speculation in political circles here.
Last elections
In the last Lok Sabha election Ms. Sreemathy managed to fare well in the Assembly segments such as Peravur, Irikkur, Kannur and Azhikode where the UDF traditionally enjoyed an upper hand, while improving the tally in the traditional CPI(M) stronghold segments such as Taliparamba, Mattannur and Dharmadam.
