P P Suneer chosen as CPI’s RS candidate
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Thiruvananthapuram: P P Suneer, the state assistant secretary, has been chosen by the CPI as its Rajya Sabha candidate. The Ponnani native, a minority face in the party, is the Kerala State Housing Board chairman at the moment.
A well-known Kanam Rajendran supporter, Suneer ran from Wayanad against Congressman Rahul Gandhi in the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Sources added that the decision to give young people opportunities marked the end of CPI's search for a Rajya Sabha candidate.
In the past, the party had considered a few candidates for the RS election, including national leader Annie Raja and member of the national executive Prakash Babu. According to state secretary Binoy Viswam, the decision was made unanimously, the New Indian Express reported.
He also said that the nominee was selected in a democratic fashion. On Monday, the party-state executive witnessed major differences on Suneer, despite the CPI secretary stating that the decision to select him was made unanimously. While some leaders suggested Prakash Babu, Binoy Viswam preferred Suneer.
“Prakash Babu being the central executive member, he was projected as the ideal choice to be in Delhi. However the leadership felt Suneer should be given a chance. He being the minority face of the party and his past record of contesting in many elections for the party was also taken into account,” said sources.
On June 25, elections will be conducted in Kerala for three Rajya Sabha seats. Based on the strength of the Kerala Assembly, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by CPI(M) can elect two members, while the United Democratic Front (UDF) led by Congress can only elect one.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) in Kerala decided on Monday to give its Rajya Sabha seat to allies CPI and Kerala Congress (M).
PP Suneer has been chosen by the CPI as its Rajya Sabha candidate while Jose K Mani has been confirmed as the KC(M) nominee.
The IUML was given the seat by the UDF earlier. The party has chosen to run Supreme Court advocate Haris Beeran as their candidate.
Three Kerala members of the Rajya Sabha, Jose K. Mani (Kerala Congress), Binoy Viswom (CPI), and Elamaram Kareem (CPI-M), are retiring. On July 1st, their term will end.