CPM does off with ‘two-term norm’, likely to fix candidate list by March 8

Thiruvananthapuram: CPM is soon likely to finalise its list of candidates to be fielded in the assembly elections. CPM state secretary M V Govindan on Saturday said list preparation was progressing at the district level and a consolidated list would be ratified by state committee meeting on March 5.The list approved by state committee would again go to district and mandalam committees, and the final list would thus be ready for announcement by March 8, Govindan told reporters.
He confirmed that CPM decided not to strictly adhere to the ‘two-term norm', adopted by the party last time. "We will not practise the two-term norm strictly. While the norm would be strictly adhered to in sure seats, winnability would be given more weightage in other seats. In such seats, the incumbent MLAs may contest, irrespective of whether they completed two terms or not," he said.Govindan said chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan would contest this time too, leading the campaign. However, no other politburo member, including Govindan, would be in the electoral fray. He said no party district secretaries would contest assembly elections.However, in some cases, if the district secretary is contesting, he may do so by handing over the charge to someone else, he said. There were reports that Thiruvananthapuram district committee recommended the name of Varkala MLA and district secretary V Joy for the seat, considering the tight fight expected there.