K. K. Shailaja Says Party Will Decide Candidates, Dismisses CM Speculation

Alappuzha: CPI(M) Central Committee member K. K. Shailaja on Tuesday said that it is the party that decides candidates for the forthcoming Assembly elections, and that no internal discussions on the matter have been initiated so far. She dismissed the ongoing public speculation over the Chief Minister’s post as unnecessary, saying such debates have no basis at this stage.

“Not just my name, many names are being mentioned. Such things can be circulated by anyone,” she said. Shailaja noted that Kerala’s present Chief Minister has provided strong and effective leadership in taking the state forward in a modern direction, and said this reality would also naturally figure in any discussion. She was speaking to reporters in Alappuzha.

Stating that the LDF does not encourage individual ambitions, Shailaja said candidates are not decided based on personal preferences. “That kind of practice is seen in some other parties,” she said, adding that the Left functions collectively and through established organisational processes.

She said the Centre is pursuing policies that are suffocating Kerala and pointed out that when the Union government tightened the financial screws on the state, the UDF chose to remain silent without raising even a single protest. Questioning the UDF’s claim that it would win 100 Assembly seats, she asked on what basis such assertions were being made and what the front had to offer the people. “They might as well claim they will win all 140 seats,” she remarked.

Shailaja said the UDF’s political aim is to weaken and eliminate the Left. “If they come to power, what will they do? They will align with communal forces. We stand firmly against that,” she said.

She also said deliberate falsehoods are being spread to distance people from the LDF by branding the Left as engaging in Muslim or Christian appeasement. “Religious minorities must be protected in this country, and that is exactly what we are doing. Communalism is always directed against minorities,” she said.

Referring to misinformation campaigns on social media, Shailaja recalled how allegations such as the so-called PPE kit scam were earlier spread against her. “None of these lies will have any impact in the elections,” Shailaja said, expressing confidence that the LDF will return to power for a third consecutive term.