Puthuppally Assembly bypoll: It's Jaic Thomas vs Chandy Oommen
The by-election to the seat was necessitated due to Oommen Chandy's demise on July 18 after battling cancer.
Kerala's ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) on Saturday announced DYFI leader Jaick C Thomas as its candidate for the by-election to the Puthuppally Assembly seat, which was represented by former Chief Minister and veteran Congress leader Oommen Chandy for over five decades.
The candidature of Thomas, who is also a district committee member of the CPI(M), was announced by party state secretary M V Govindan, in a press meet here.
This is the third consecutive electoral fight for Thomas from the Puthuppally constituency. He had taken on Oommen Chandy in his bastion in the 2016 and 2021 Assembly polls.
The by-election to the seat was necessitated due to Oommen Chandy's demise on July 18 after battling cancer. The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has fielded Chandy Oommen, son of Oommen Chandy, from the constituency.
The CPI(M) finalised Thomas's candidature after a thorough discussion in its various forums, including the state secretariat and Kottayam district committee.
The bypoll will be held on September 5 and the results will be announced on September 8.
Announcing the party candidate, Govindan said his party does not intend to personally target anyone but will talk politics and the developmental initiatives of the Left government.
The senior Left leader criticised a section of the media, accusing them of taking sides with the opposition and the right wing to consistently oppose the development in the state.
"After the Left government came to power for the second consecutive time in 2021, the Opposition and a section of the media here understood that people vote for development. So now they are trying to torpedo all the developmental activities of the Left government," Govindan said.
He also said the "sole agenda" of the opposition Congress was not to accept any sort of developmental project in Kerala.
"We have numerous examples, including the national highway development, the K-Rail, the K-FON, and the AI camera, among others," he added.
The BJP is expected to announce its candidate soon. PTI RRT RRT SS
