The Janata Dal (Secular) and the Janata Dal (United), bitter rivals on both sides of the major coalitions in the State, seem to be still on the fence on the choice of candidates for Vadakara Assembly constituency even as the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) nominated K.K. Rema, wife of slain leader T.P. Chandrasekharan, for the seat.
Sources said that JD(U) would possibly zero in on sitting legislator C.K. Nanu, but M.K. Premnath, who had lost to Mr. Nanu on the SJ(D) ticket in 2011, but has now shifted political loyalties, is also being considered.
The JD(S) State leadership is also mulling over the nominations of K. Lohia and E.P. Damodaran while the Central leadership a Muslim candidate such as Nizar Ahamed and C. Mohasin. At the same time, the JD(U) wants to nominate its district president Manayanth Chandran in the constituency. A final decision would be taken on April 5, they said.
With Ms. Rema throwing her hat in the ring, the calculations of both Janata parties are likely to get upset. Her candidature, their leaders believe, would eat into their vote share. “It is also my maiden electoral battle and would be quite different,” Ms. Rema told The Hindu .
In the 2011 Assembly polls, the RMP had nominated N. Venu, who secured over 10,000 votes from Vadakara. By choosing Ms. Rema, the RMP hopes to keep afloat the party after the brutal killing of its popular and affable CPI(M) dissident Chandrasekharan on May 4, 2012.
The party, which is confined to Vadakara, could not make big gains in the local bodies’ polls in November 2015. It won only a seat in Vadakara municipality; six seats in Onchiyam, three seats in Eramala and two seats each in Azhiyur and Chorode grama panchayats.
Previously, RMP leaders wanted Ms. Rema to take on CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan at Dharmadom segment. The UDF and the BJP dropped hints to back Ms. Rema. “But the party decided not to take their support. It will create a news value, but not help our political goals,” she said.
