The Communist Party of India, which leads the ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala has announced 83 candidates listed for the upcoming Assembly Polls. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will contest from his sitting seat in Dharmadam in Kannur district while h…

The party contests from 76 seats and backs nine independent candidates; it has announced 83 names on Wednesday.The Communist Party of India, which leads the ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala has announced 83 candidates listed for the upcoming Assembly Polls. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will contest from his sitting seat in Dharmadam in Kannur district while his cabinet and party colleague KK Shailaja is being fielded from Mattanur. The state will go to polls on April 6. 
The party hasn’t made many changes from the probable list that had been prepared earlier. The rule around two-time MLAs (not fielding those who contested and won consecutively twice) is said to provide an opportunity for younger people within the party. Thirty-three MLAs, including five ministers, are therefore not contesting this time. As a result, ministers and prominent leaders of the party, including Thomas Issac, G Sudhakaran, EP Jayarajan, AK Balan and C Raveendranath, have not made it to the latest list.
The party is contesting from 74 seats, of these, nine are CPI(M)-backed independents. Candidates for two seats Devikulam in Idukki district and Manjeshwar in Kasaragod will be declared later. 
Four people under the age of 30 will be contesting. Between the ages of 30 and 40, there are eight candidates. Between 40 and 50 years of age, there are 13 contestants. There are 33 people aged between 51 and 60 who are contesting, and 24 above 60 years of age.
In a press meet to announce the list, Acting State Secretary of the CPI(M) A Vijayharaghavan, who is also an LDF convener, stated that the party gives equal importance to organisational activities, and not solely parliamentary politics.  
The intention of the two-term rule is not to exclude anyone but to include new faces, he said. 
Of the ministers MM Mani and J Mercykutty Amma have found a place in the list. MM Mani will contest from Udumpanchola in Idukki, Mercykutty Amma from Kundara in Kollam and KT Jaleel from Tirur in Malappuram. Aisha Potty, the three-time MLA of Kottarakkara has not been fielded this time. Former Rajyasabha MP KN Balagopal is instead the Kottarakkara candidate. 
V Sivankutty, who was defeated by the BJPs O Rajagopal in Nemom in Thiruvananthapuram, is being fielded from the constituency again. Prominent leader of the party in Palakkad MB Rajesh is the candidate for Thrithala. Rajesh is a two-time MP from Palakkad, but lost in the 2019 election. VT Balaram of the Congress is the sitting MLA from Thrithala. Former Rajyasabha MP P Rajeev has been fielded from Kalamassery in Ernakulam district. Actor Mukesh is fielded from his sitting seat of Kollam constituency. Saji Cherian, who got back the Chengannur seat from the UDF in the 2018 bye-elections, is fielded again in the constituency. TV anchor turned politician is the candidate from her sitting seat in Aranmula in Pathanamthitta. 
Notably, KT Jaleel, who was the Minister of Higher Education, is contesting as CPI(M) backed independent from Thavanoor. Other notable Left independents include Karat Razak who will be contesting from Koduvally and PV Anwar from Nilambur.
Among other notable names are M Swaraj from Tripunithura, Mohammed Riyas from Beypore, VK Prasanth from Vattiyoorkavu, Veena George from Aranmula and Jaick C Thomas from Puthuppally. 
Among the candidates listed, there are 42 graduates, including 22 advocates, 14 post-graduates, one PhD scholar, an architect and two MBBS doctors.
Twelve women candidates have also been listed. This includes Professor R Bindu, the wife of CPI(M) state secretary Vijayaraghavan, from the constituency of Irinjalakuda.
Full list of candidates
Thiruvananthapuram
Parassala – CK Hareendran
Neyyattinkara – K Ansalan
Vattiyoorkkavu- VK Prasanth
Kattakkada – IB Satheesh
Nemom – V Sivankutty
Kazhakoottam – Kadakampally Surendran
Varkala – V Joy
Vamanapuram – DK Murali
Attingal – OS Ambika
Aruvikkara – G Stephan
Kollam
Kollam- M Mukesh
Iravipuram – M Noushad
Chavara- Dr V Sujith (Independent)
Kundara – J Mercykutty Amma
Kottarakkara – KN Balagopal
Pathanamthitta
Aranmula- Veena George
Konni – KU Janeesh Kumar
Alappuzha
Chengannur- Saji Cheriyan
Kayamkulam – U Prathiba
Ambalappuzha- H Salam
Aroor – Daleema Jojo
Mavelikkara – MS Arun Kumar
Alappuzha – PP Chitharanjan
Kottayam
Ettumanoor – VN Vasan
Kottayam –  K Anil Kumar
Puthupally – Jaick C Thomas
Idukki
Udumbanchola – MM Mani
Ernakulam
Kochi – KJ Maxi
Vypin – KN Unnikrishnan
Thrikkakara – Dr J Jacob
Trippunithura – M Swaraj
Kalamassery – P Rajeev
Kothamangalam – Antony John
Aluva – Shelna Nishad
Ernakulam – Yesudas Parappilly
Thrissur
Irinjalakuda – R Bindu
Vadakkancherry- Xaviour Chittilappilly
Manalur – Murali Perunelli
Chelakkara – K Radhakrishnan
Guruvayur – NK Akbar
Puthukkad- KK Ramachandran
Kunnamkulam  – AC Moideen
Palakkad
Alathur  – KD Prasenan
Nenmara – K Babu
Palakkad  – CP Pramod
Malambuzha- A Prabhakaran
Kongad- K Santhakumari
Tharoor- PP Sumod
Ottappalam –  K Premkumar
Shornur  PP Mammykutty
Thrithala  – MB Rajesh
Malappuram
Thavanur  – KT Jaleel
Ponnani- P Nandakumar
Kondotty – KP Sulaiman Haji 
Perinthalmanna – KP Muhammed Musthafa 
Nilambur  – PV Anwar
Mankada – TK Rasheedali
Vandur- P Mithuna
Malappuram  – Abdul Rahman 
Kozhikode
Koilandi –  Kanathil Jameela
Perambra – TP Ramakrishnan
Balussery : KM Sachidev
Kozhikode North : Thottathil Raveendran
Beypore: PA Muhammed Riyas
Kunnamangalam : PTA RAhim
Koduvalli : Karat Razaq
Thiruvambady: Linto Joseph
Wayanad 
Mananthavady : OR Kelu
Bathery : MS Viswanathan
Kannur
Dharmadom : Pinarayi Vijayan
Payyannur : PI Madhusoodhan
Kalliyassery : M Vijin
Azhikode : KV Sumesh
Mattannur : KK Shailaja
Thalassery : AN Shamseer
Thaliparambu : MV Govindan
Peravur Zakeer -Hussain
Kasaragod
Uduma : CH Kunjambu
Thrikkarippur : M Rajagopalan
Manjeswaram :
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