Thiruvananthapuram: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has broadly agreed to ease its earlier two-term restriction, allowing leaders who have served consecutive terms to contest again and enabling most state secretariat members to enter the forthcoming Assembly elections.

Of the party’s 62 sitting MLAs, 50 are set to seek re-election, while the remaining names will be reviewed once more before a final decision. The state committee is expected to meet later this week to discuss candidate selection and related matters.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is among 13 of the 17 state secretariat members likely to contest. State secretary MV Govindan will not be in the fray owing to his organisational responsibilities. Senior leaders EP Jayarajan, Puthalath Dinesan and CN Mohanan are also expected to stay out.

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Former finance minister Thomas Isaac, who was denied a ticket last time due to the two-term rule, is likely to return as a candidate. Other prominent leaders set to contest include KK Shailaja, KN Balagopal, P Rajeev, PK Biju, M Swaraj, VN Vasavan, Saji Cherian, PA Mohammed Riyas and MV Jayarajan.

Some sitting MLAs to step aside

Among those not expected to contest are M Rajagopal (Thrikkarippur), MM Mani (Udumbanchola), actor-turned-politician M Mukesh (Kollam), U Prathibha (Kayamkulam), Daleema Jojo (Aroor) and AC Moideen (Kunnamkulam).

Though V Joy, the Thiruvananthapuram district secretary, was expected to step aside, the party is reconsidering his candidature. In Nemom, where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) poses a strong challenge, V Sivankutty is likely to be fielded despite health concerns.

Discussions are also under way on retaining Kadakampally Surendran in Kazhakkoottam to counter the BJP, though the Sabarimala issue is seen as a potential challenge.

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Possible seat changes, new faces

In Malampuzha, the party may field VA Arun Kumar, son of the late veteran leader VS Achuthanandan, replacing sitting MLA A Prabhakaran. Shoranur, considered a CPM stronghold, could see a new face in place of P Mammikutty.

If a safe constituency is allocated to M Swaraj, the party may move sitting MLA P Nandakumar out of Ponnani.

While the party has asked all probable candidates to become active in their constituencies, the final list will be announced only after discussions in the state and district committees. Decisions on fielding independent candidates will be taken following bilateral talks with other constituents of the Left Democratic Front.