The CPM on Wednesday announced its decision to field Parassala bock panchayat member F. Lawrence as the LDF candidate in the upcoming assembly byelection in Neyyattinkara.
The party’s district committee, which met here earlier in the day, zeroed in on Lawrence, giving due weight to his “influence” in three of the five panchayats in the constituency. The decision was ratified by the party’s state committee that was in session at the AKG Centre.
The district committee had also weighed the pros and cons of the other probables like advocate R.T. Pradeep, son of former MLA S.R. Thankaraj, the opposition leader in Neyyattinkara municipality Ansalan and local party leader Vijay Bose, party sources said.
Sources said Lawrence’s association with the people at the grassroots level and his proximity to the CSI Church tilted the balance in his favour. By fielding Lawrence, the CPM is hopeful also of attracting voters from outside the party fold.