V. S. Sunil Kumar - CPI's Candidate For The Highly Contested Thrissur Seat (image-facebook/Adv. V S Sunil Kumar)
Binoy Viswam, Party State Secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), has announced its list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections at a press conference on Monday. The party has fielded former agriculture minister VS Sunil Kumar as its candidate in Thrissur.
The 56-year-old, born in Anthikkad, Thrissur, has been actively involved in politics since his high school days. Beginning his political journey with the All-India Students’ Federation (AISF), Kumar rose through leadership positions at the state and national levels. An alumnus of Sree Kerala Varma College, Thrissur, he completed his LL.B from Kerala Law Academy Law College, Thiruvananthapuram.
He served as the District Secretary of AISF in Thrissur and later assumed the roles of State Secretary and All India Secretary of the organisation. His foray into electoral politics began in 2006, when he was elected to the Kerala Legislative Assembly from the Kaipamangalam constituency. He went on to represent the Thrissur constituency in the subsequent Assembly elections in 2011 and 2016, securing victory both times.
The Thrissur constituency consists of seven assembly segments, such as Guruayur, Manalur, Ollur, Thrissur, Nattika, Irinjalakuda, and Puthukkad.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Thrissur witnessed a triangular conflict between Congress candidate T. N. Prathapan, who won from the constituency by polling around 4.1 lakh votes, CPI’s Rajan Mathew Thomas, who won over 3.2 lakh votes, and BJP candidate, Suresh Gopi, who won over 2.9 lakh votes.
In 2009, Congress candidate P. C. Chacko secured the seat, however, in 2014, the seat went to CPI member C. N. Jayadevan, who got over 3.8 lakh votes.
Recent developments, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi”s visits to Thrissur and the continued presence of actor-turned-politician and BJP member Suresh Gopi, have given rise to speculations of the latter being the party’s Lok Sabha candidate. The BJP expects to sway the population of Thrissur, which comprises a Hindu majority. However, even when a section of Christians were supporting the party, Gopi polled only 31 percent of the votes.
Thrissur, along with Thiruvananthapuram, is expected to witness a fierce electoral contest, with the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), CPI and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), vying for dominance. While the other parties have yet to announce their candidates, it remains to be seen whether the CPI candidate is able to secure a win in Thrissur.
