Can Thomas Isaac Survive The Triangular Fight In Pathanamthitta? (Facebook/Dr.T.M Thomas Isaac)

With Lok Sabha elections just weeks away, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has finalised its list of candidates. The party has fielded prominent leaders this time. Thomas Isaac, the former finance minister of Kerala, is the party candidate in the Pathanamthitta parliamentary constituency.

Thomas Isaac, the 71-year-old politician, served as Kerala”s Finance Minister for two terms, from 2006 to 2011, and from 2016 to 2021. The veteran leader started his political life in 1971 with the Students Federation of India (SFI). He has served in various posts in the SFI at the college, district, and state levels. This includes the roles of SFI Ernakulam District President and President of the SFI State Committee.

Thomas Isaac, also a well-known economist, obtained a PhD in economics from the Centre for Development Studies (CDS) in 1985. His PhD thesis is titled Class Struggle and Industrial Structure: A Study of Coir Weaving Industry in Kerala 1859 – 1980. The veteran leader was also a faculty member at the CDS, where he did his M.Phil and Ph.D until 2001. He served as a member of the Kerala State Planning Board from 1996 to 2001. Thomas Isaac has published several articles on economics, planning, and politics and has also presented lectures and papers at national and international conferences and seminars.

It is to be noted that Thomas Isaac played a vital role in People’s Planning, a significant project of the Left Democratic Front government led by CPM veteran E.K. Nayanar (1996–2001). During the 2001 Kerala Legislative Assembly election, Thomas Isaac won from the Mararikulam constituency with a winning margin of more than 8,400 votes. In the 2006 Assembly polls, Thomas Isaac contested from the same constituency and won by a margin of 17,679 votes. While the CPM candidate secured 75,994 votes, Congress candidate Simmi Rose Bell John managed to get only 58,315 votes. Thomas Isaac also became the finance minister in the VS Achuthanandan cabinet (2006–2011).

Mararikulam constituency was later renamed Alappuzha. In the 2011 Assembly polls, Thomas Isaac won the seat by 16,542 votes. However, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) lost power to the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in that election. In the 2016 Assembly elections, Thomas Isaac increased his winning margin. He secured 83,211 votes, and the winning margin was 31,032 votes. Thomas Isaac also became the Finance Minister in the Pinarayi Vijayan government.

In 2017, Alappuzha was recognised by the United Nations for its solid waste management. Alappuzha, the Venice of the East, became a model for other cities around the world, and Thomas Isaac played a major role in this achievement. However, the party denied the ticket to Thomas Isaac in the 2021 state assembly elections. CPM made this crucial move as they decided not to provide seats to those who had been elected twice.

At the same time, the Enforcement Directorate is investigating the Masala bonds case involving Thomas Isaac. In January 2024, the probe agency summoned Thomas Isaac for questioning. However, the former Finance Minister skipped the summons, and it was the second time that the veteran leader has refused to adhere to the ED summons. Recently, the Kerala High Court reportedly told Thomas Isaac to cooperate with the ED summons.

The 2024 Lok Sabha election is expected to be a tough battle for Thomas Issac, as Pathanamthitta is a known Congress-led UDF stronghold. The constituency, which was created in 2008, witnessed UDF candidate Anto Antony”s hat-trick victories. The constituency had created headlines earlier in the backdrop of the Sabarimala women entry issue and the following protests. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the LDF fielded Veena George from the Pathanamthitta constituency. It was a close battle, and Congress candidate Anto Antony won the seat by a margin of 44,243 votes. Meanwhile, the BJP is likely to field former MLA PC George in Pathanamthitta. Besides PC George, his son Shone George”s name is also reportedly considered by the party for the constituency. Thus, the constituency is preparing for a three-way contest.