CPI(M) will announce its candidates at appropriate time: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan

Holding that the Left Democratic Front would stage a strong comeback in the upcoming Assembly elections, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said here on Monday that he would lead the front’s campaign in the upcoming Assembly elections.

Attending a meeting of the CPI(M) district secretariat meeting here as part of election preparations, the Chief Minister, however, did not clarify whether he would contest again. Reiterating that no one should project themselves as candidates and that the party would announce candidates at the appropriate time, he advised sitting legislators to focus on their constituencies. “Sometimes you may be the candidate, sometimes changes may be required,” he said.

The party had earlier sought a clarification from the CPI(M) district secretary Raju Abraham for his remarks suggesting that sitting MLAs would continue in Konni and Aranmula. The comments were widely seen as indicating that Veena George would continue in Aranmula and K.U. Jenish Kumar in Konni.

According to sources, the CPI(M) is expected to begin seat-sharing and seat-allocation discussions in the first week of February. House visits are being initiated to analyse the reasons for the local body election outcome and to address issues at the grassroots level.

The meeting attended by the Chief Minister on Monday evening was held as part of preparations to gear up both the government and the party for electioneering, with plans also being discussed to make the Budget more people-centric ahead of the polls.