New Delhi Feb 27 (IANS) Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will lead the Left Democratic Front’s campaign in the Kerala Assembly polls, CPI(M) general secretary M. A. Baby said on Friday, even as he reiterated that the party has not declared a Chief Ministerial candidate.

Speaking after a politburo meeting in the national capital, Baby clarified that while Vijayan would spearhead the election campaign, the decision on the Chief Minister would be taken only after securing a majority.

“At no point has the CPI(M) or the Left declared a Chief Ministerial candidate. Once we get the mandate, a decision will be made,” he said.

Projecting confidence, Baby asserted that Kerala’s Left government represents an “essential alternative direction” in governance.

He said the development and welfare initiatives undertaken over the past decade would work in the LDF’s favour.

Referring to the recent controversy surrounding Health Minister Veena George, Baby alleged that she had been subjected to an attack and described it as part of a conspiracy.

He claimed Kerala has the country’s strongest public health system and suggested that rapid progress in the public sector had unsettled private healthcare interests.

The CPI(M) is expected to release its list of candidates in the first week of March.

Baby described the Politburo as the party’s high command but emphasised that candidate selection follows a structured and democratic process.

“Unlike some parties where decisions emerge from invisible centres, we have an elaborate and democratic system,” he said.

The selection criteria will factor in youth representation, women, marginalised communities, minorities, social balance and winnability.

A mix of age groups will also be maintained, he added, signalling both continuity and calibrated generational change in the party’s electoral strategy.

At the 2021 Assembly polls to the 140 member Kerala Legislative Assembly, the CPI(M) fielded 75 candidates, of which 62 won.

–IANS

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