LDF completes seat-sharing, CPM to contest 91 seats

Kerala732;s Opposition alliance, the LDF, today completed its seat sharing exercise with the CPIM and independent candidates, deciding to contest 11 Assembly seats that were undecided following a dispute among Front partners.

Kerala8217;s Opposition alliance, the LDF, today completed its seat sharing exercise with the CPIM and independent candidates, deciding to contest 11 Assembly seats that were undecided following a dispute among Front partners.

The CPIM and its independents will now contest 91 seats, while Front partners will share the remaining 49. The CPI, the second largest partner in the Front, will field candidates in 24 seats, while the Janata Dal-S will contest in eight. The Kerala Congress-J will get six, the RSP four, the NCP two, the INL three and the Kerala Congress-S and the Congress-S one each.

The CPIM will contest 84 seats on its own, eight more than last time. While it fielded four independents in the last poll, seven candidates are in the fray this time, including IAS officer Alphonse Kannanthanam, who voluntarily retired from service recently.

Briefing reporters after a meeting of the LDF, its convener Paloli Mohammed Kutty said the CPIM would contest eight seats and independents would put up a fight in the remaining three.

Kutty also said the LDF had decided to support two ex-Muslim League leaders, K T Jaleel from Kuttippuram against IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty, and P T A Rahim from Koduvalli against DIC-K president K Muraleedharan.

CITU national leader and an Achuthanandan confidante P K Gurudasan will contest the Kollam seat.

Left fellow-traveller Cherian Philip will contest the Kallooppara seat. The decision on seat-sharing was unanimous, Kutty said.

Story continues below this ad

He said the LDF had asked its partners, the Kerala Congress-J and the JDS, to avoid fielding Antony Raju Thiruvananthapuram West and Neelalohitadasan Nadar Kovalam as they were facing court cases. The parties may reconsider their decision, he said.

The controversial remarks by KC-J leader P J Joseph, who has protested against the Front leadership for ignoring the claim for more seats, was not discussed at the meeting, Kutty said.