In first list, CPM fields Arif against Congress’s Venugopal

New Delhi, March 28

INDIA bloc member Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Thursday declared the first list of 44 candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. It fielded sitting MP AM Arif from Alappuzha, opposite Congress general secretary KC Venugopal. The Congress and CPM are allies in the anti-BJP INDIA bloc, but principal rivals in Kerala.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Alappuzha was the only seat among Kerala’s 20, which the CPM won. The Congress-led UDF bagged the remaining 19.

Among 44 candidates, 15 are from Kerala, including former Kerala health minister KK Shailaja (Vadakara) and Rajya Sabha MP Elamaram Kareem (Kozhikode).

From the Jalandhar SC seat, the CPM has named Purushottam Lal Bilga. The seat currently represented by Sushil Rinku who deserted Aam Aadmi Party for the saffron party on Wednesday.

The CPM also declared 17 candidates in West Bengal; two in Tamil Nadu; one each in Tripura East (ST); Rajasthan (Amra Ram); Telangana, Andaman and Nicobar Islands; Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar (Sanjay Kumar from Khagaria) and Karnataka (Chikkaballapur).