CPI(M) releases 1st list of 44 candidates for Lok Sabha election; fields Purushottam Bilga from Jalandhar SC seat

New Delhi, March 28

INDIA alliance member CPI(M) on Thursday declared the first list of 44 candidates for Lok Sabha elections.

The party fielded sitting MP AM Arif from Alappuzha, opposite Congress general secretary KC Venugopal. Congress and CPM are allies in anti BJP INDIA bloc but are principal rivals in Kerala.

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

Among 44 candidates, 15 are from Kerala, including ex-Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja (Vadakara) and Rajya Sabha MP Elamaram Kareem (Kozhikode).

From Jalandhar SC seat, CPI(M) has named Purushottam Lal Bilga. Jalandhar SC is currently represented by Sushil Rinku who deserted AAP for BJP on Wednesday.

CPI(M) 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 in Khagaria) and Karnataka (Chikkaballapur).