Thiruvananthapuram: CPI-M on Saturday fielded Jaick C.Thomas (33) to contest for Puthupally by-election which will be his third straight assembly election from the assembly constituency.
Thomas told the media that they will invite any Congress leader to speak about the development of Puthupally assembly constituency which the deceased Congress leader Chandy represented for 53 years.
“I challenge any of the Congress leaders over the development of Puthupally ever since Chandy became a legislator. Come forward we will debate on what has development has taken place in this constituency,” said Thomas.
Thomas contested against Chandy in 2016 and 2021 and managed to bring down the victory margin of over 30,000 votes Chandy had in the 2011 assembly polls to less than 10,000 during the 2021 polls.
“We have had a strong base in Puthupally. It shows that CPI-M rules in six of the eight village panchayaths under this constituency and three block panchayaths,” Thomas said.
Chandy’s son Chandy Oommen is the Congress candidate for Puthupally constituency. He was elected by the Congress high command to take forward Chandy’s 53 year-old legacy in his constituency.
K.Muraleedharan, son of Congress veteran K.Karunakaran, welcomed Thomas in the poll arena. “Thomas will make it a hat trick after he loses. He will write himself into record books by losing to both father and son,” said Muraleedharan, a senior Congress Lok Sabha member.
The voting will take place on September 5 and counting will be on September 8.
The BJP is also expected to announce its candidate soon. During 2021 assembly polls, their candidate saw votes coming down by over 4,000 votes.
–IANS