THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the national attention being drawn to three of the four seats in Kerala that the CPI is contesting, the party's responsibilities in the impending Lok Sabha elections have grown. The CPI will be contesting in Thiruvananthapuram, Mavelikkara, Thrissur and Wayanad seats in the Lok Sabha polls. The CPI state council meeting to be held next month is likely to begin discussions on candidate selection.

With the BJP set to put up a tough fight in Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur seats, these constituencies will be witnessing a strong three-cornered contest. Shashi Tharoor, the sitting MP of the Congress in Thiruvananthapuram, has already become active with campaigning programs. The national prominence of Thiruvananthapuram will increase if a VIP from the Centre becomes the BJP candidate in the constituency. The CPI, which had to settle for the third position the last two times, may field a stronger candidate this time.

Actor and former Rajya Sabha MP Suresh Gopi will be the face of the BJP in Thrissur. Suresh Gopi began the campaigning works in the constituency by bringing in Prime Minister Narendra Modi. CPI has experienced leaders like VS Sunil Kumar and KP Rajendran in Thrissur. For Congress, sitting MP TN Pratapan has started preparations for the contest.