Local body polls: Fronts in final stages of selection of candidates in Kozhikode

Discussions on selection of candidates for the local body elections are entering the final phase in Kozhikode even as disagreements and differences of opinion persist among all major political fronts in the district.

There are 70 grama panchayats, 12 block panchayats, seven municipalities, and one Corporation in the district. The LDF is ruling 42 grama panchayats and the UDF is in power in 28. The UDF is in power in four municipalities and the LDF is ruling the rest. The LDF is ruling in 10 block panchayats and the UDF two. The LDF is also in power in both the Kozhikode district panchayat and the Kozhikode Corporation.

The Congress was the first to declare its first list of candidates ahead of the declaration of the poll schedule. It also has a tie-up with the Revolutionary Marxist Party in local bodies in places such as Vadakara where the latter has pockets of influence. The party is contesting in 49 wards in the Kozhikode Corporation, and the candidates for 22 have been announced. Fourteen of them are women.

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, who has been given charge of the local body, has announced that the party will have “surprise candidates” for the Corporation election. However, according to sources, “all is not well” within the party and the United Democratic Front (UDF) as there are intense disagreements over the selection of candidates in wards and divisions where the Congress won last time.

There could be more than one aspirant for the same seat, and the possibility of rebel candidates entering the fray against the official ones cannot be ruled out. The Indian Union Muslim League is also facing a similar problem in some places. Both parties are at present treading cautiously to avoid any confusion.

A printing vendor displays models of party symbols in Kozhikode on Wednesday.

The district Congress leadership, meanwhile, said that the nominees are decided at the ward level, and once the candidates are finalised, there would be no room for any dissident activity. The party is expected to announce its second list on Thursday.

The LDF is apparently facing a problem of plenty, and discussions are still on to accommodate the interests of all its allies. The LDF has at least 10 constituents now, and there are aspirants from all the parties. The CPI(M) is planning to field C.P. Musafar Ahmed, current Deputy Mayor in the Kozhikode Corporation, as the mayoral candidate this time. Amitha Pradeep, the daughter of A. Pradeepkumar, former MLA and current private secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and Mili, daughter of former Mayor T.P. Dasan, are some of the other names doing the rounds.

For the Kozhikode district panchayat, K.K. Lathika, former Kuttiyadi MLA, is reportedly a possible candidate. However, local-level activists are apparently not happy with at least some of the nominees, and discussions are on to chalk out a consensus. The LDF is set to declare its first list of candidates on Thursday.

The National Democratic Alliance is also not free from internal tussles even though the BJP has already declared candidates for 45 wards in the Kozhikode Corporation. The party is planning to improve its performance in the city this time by fielding many veteran leaders as candidates. In the 2015 and 2020 polls, the party had won seven wards. In 2020, it was in the second position in 22 wards as well. However, some incumbent councillors are reportedly not willing to be excluded from the fray this time.