Setting the stage for a spirited electoral campaign in the five Assembly constituencies going to the polls on October 21, the Congress high command on Saturday cleared the list of four candidates submitted by the State leadership.
The party will field Shanimol Usman from Aroor, P.Mohan Raj from Konni, T.J. Vinod from Ernakulam, and K.Mohankumar from Vattiyurkavu. Earlier, the Indian Union Muslim League had nominated M.C. Kamaruddin as its candidate from Manjeswaram.
The AICC formally announced the candidates on Saturday after Congress president Sonia Gandhi cleared the list which had been finalised after several rounds of discussions between KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran, Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, and AICC general secretary Oommen Chandy.
Meanwhile, former BJP State president Kummanam Rajasekharan is understood to have given his consent to the BJP State leadership to contest the Vattiyurkavu seat. Though his name had been doing the rounds since the party began hunting for a nominee to take the fight to the Congress and LDF camps, Mr.Rajasekharan had not revealed his mind.
O.Rajagopal, MLA, confirmed to the media here on Saturday that Mr.Rajasekharan had agreed to be the party’s nominee.
The LDF was the first off the blocks, with the CPI(M) announcing its candidates for the five constituencies, including a party-backed Independent for the Ernakulam seat, on Thursday.
