The CPM is facing resentment against the choice of candidates in Kerala Assembly seats where the Left Democratic Front is seeking a second consecutive term in office.

While dissent has been brewing in many districts, matters came to a head with hundreds of CPM workers taking to the streets at Kuttiyadi in Kozhikode district and in Ponnani in neighbouring Malappuram district on Monday against the party’s decisions.

New faces who are not the choice of the majority of cadres have been proposed to be fielded in many seats as several sitting MLAs are making way for others after having completed two terms and some seats have been assigned to a new entrant into the LDF — the Kerala Congress (Mani).

A few local committee members even resigned in Ponnani on Tuesday, protesting the party’s decision to field P. Nandakumar instead of popular leader T.M. Siddique. While the official candidates’ list has yet to be finalised, the CPM has zeroed in on names in most of the 140 constituencies going to polls on April 6.

The protest in Kuttiyadi was against the Left Democratic Front’s decision to give the seat to the Kerala Congress (Mani). CPM cadres want their party to field local leader K.P. Kunjammad Kutty.

Simmering discontentment over the denial of a ticket to CPM powerhouse P. Jayarajan, whom many see as the next Pinarayi Vijayan, has led to dissent in Kannur. Sports minister E.P. Jayarajan and Kannur district secretary M.V. Jayarajan are also unlikely to be fielded this time.

The omission of P. Jayarajan has caused much heartburn among his followers, one of whom quit from the Kannur sports council in protest. P. Jayarajan has, however, distanced himself from the developments.

Similarly, strong resentment has come to haunt the party and the LDF in several other constituencies, either over giving the seats to KC (M) or picking candidates against the wishes of the majority view.

Manjeshwar in Kasaragod bordering Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka is one of the seats the BJP is betting on apart from Nemom in Thiruvananthapuram that it won in 2016. The BJP is considering to field its state president K. Surendran to try his luck in Manjeshwar for a second time after losing by 89 votes to the Congress-led United Democratic Front.

Local CPM cadres have launched a protest against the CPM’s decision to pick K.R. Jayananda to take on the might of the BJP and the UDF in Manjeshwar. Posters have appeared in various parts of the constituency against the choice.

Similar posters have been seen at Kalamassery in Ernakulam district and Alappuzha where the CPM has decided to field P. Rajeev and P.P. Chittaranjan, respectively. While the dissenters are against nominating Rajiv from anywhere, the objection in Alappuzha is about leaving out well-liked party veteran and public works minister G. Sudhakaran due to the CPM’s two-term norm.

The general feeling among party cadres is that the CPM would suffer if leaders like Sudhakaran and finance minister Thomas Isaac are left out due to the two-term policy.
CPM leaders have been varying in their response to what is essentially anti-party activities in the state ahead of the crucial elections. Acting state secretary and LDF convener A. Vijayaraghavan said he had only “seen the protests on TV” and added: “I cannot say anything more than that.”

But CPM central committee member M.V. Govindan admitted to the dissent. “There have been issues when seats have been given to LDF partners (even in the past). That is usually sorted out at the organisational level,” he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.