KOCHI: Putting an end to rumours, LDF has announced a surprise woman candidate in Ernakulam. KJ Shine (53) is a teacher, Kerala School Teachers Association (KSTA) state committee member and North Paravur municipal councillor.

KJ Shine, a native of Gothuruth, is a teacher at Kottapuram Latin Catholic Diocese's St. Mary's High School, Pallipuram. She is a member of the CPM North Paravur Town local committee. Shine, who has been a party member since 2000, was the former district president of KSTA. Shine entered politics through SFI and was an active worker of KCYM and KCSL organizations of the Kottapuram Diocese.

She is the daughter of Gouthuruth native Joseph and Mary. Her husband is Dyneus Thomas, who was a senior superintendent in the LSGD Joint Directorate, Kakkanad. The couple has three children- Aromal, a bank officer, Alan, an MBBS student, and Amy Shine, a degree student at St. Xavier's College, Aluva.

The names of former Congress leader KV Thomas, daughter Rekha Thomas, district panchayat member Yesudas Parapalli and Kochi mayor Adv.M Anilkumar had been doing rounds for days as LDF's candidate in Ernakulam. The CPM district leadership meeting held on Tuesday reached an agreement regarding the candidate and informed the state leadership. The district and state leaderships speeded up the candidate selection after it became evident that sitting MP Hibi Eden is the UDF candidate in Ernakulam.

Although CPM had fielded P Rajeev in Ernakulam in the 2019 elections, he lost to Hibi Eden by 1,69,153 votes. Hibi Eden, who confirmed his candidacy this time, has already started campaigning unofficially. The election heat in the constituency will intensify after the BJP, which won 14.29 percent of votes last time, announce its candidate.

UDF's fort
The CPM has contested on the party symbol only six times in the constituency's elections since 1951. In 1962, the CPI also contested on the party symbol. LDF has won only five times in the constituency so far. In the 1997 and 2003 by-elections and the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, the Left won by fielding advocate Dr Sebastian Paul, a media activist. In 1967, V Vishwanatha Menon won on the party symbol and in 1996, Xavier Arakkal won as an independent for the LDF.