Cong KC Venugopal files nomination for LS polls from Alappuzha

KOCHI: Congress leader KC Venugopal on Thursday filed his nomination from Alappuzha constituency in Kerala for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to be held in seven phases across the country beginning April 19. The Alappuzha parliamentary seat is set to witness a 'three-cornered fight' with candidates of the BJP, Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the fray for the upcoming polls. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) won one seat in Alappuzha in the 2019 elections.

This time, the Congress general secretary is pitted against BJP's Shobha Surendran and CPI (Marxist) AM Ariff who is the incumbent MP from the constituency. Surendran filed her nomination from the Alappuzha constituency on Wednesday.

Venugopal had won the constituency in 2014 and the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. In 2004, the Communist Party of India candidate K S Manoj had won the seat. Congress's V M Sudheeran had won three consecutive elections- 1996, 1998 and 1999. In the year 1991 CPI's T J Anjalose won the seat. In the 1984 and in 1989 Congress candidate Vakkom Purushothaman had won. This parliamentary constituency consists of seven Assembly segments- Aroor, Cherthala, Alappuzha, Ambalappuzha, Haripad, Kayamkulam, and Karunagappalli.

The CPI and the Congress, partners in the opposition INDIA bloc are however, fierce contenders in Kerala, with both parties pitting their strongest candidates against each other. Kerala, one of the few states where the Congress still has a strong presence, sends 20 parliamentarians to the Lok Sabha.

The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) won 19 out of 20 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. While the Congress won 15 seats, its allies Indian Union Muslim League won two seats, the Revolutionary Socialist Party won one and the Kerala Congress (M) won one seat. Voting for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the South Indian state across all 20 seats is scheduled for April 26, while the counting of votes will take place on June 4. (ANI)