Thirty-three sitting MLA's have been dropped by the CPI(M) from contesting in the upcoming Kerala assembly elections.

Thirty-three sitting MLA's have not found a place in the list to contest the elections as the CPI(M) has implemented a two-term policy in Kerala.

Thirty-three sitting MLA's have not found a place in the list to contest the elections as the CPI(M) has implemented a two-term policy in Kerala.CPI(M) announced the list of 83 candidates for the upcoming assembly elections to be held on April 6 in Kerala. Finance minister TM Thomas Issac, Education Minister C Ravindranath, assembly speaker P Sreeramakrishnan, EP Jayarajan, AK Balan, and G Sudhakaran are the notable absentees in the list while the chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan's son-in-law, Mohammad Riyaz gets a nod to contest from the Beypore constituency of Calicut as a CPI(M) candidate.

The party has given preference to fresh faces to beat the anti-incumbency factor. No government in Kerala has had a back-to-back assembly election wins in the state. As a result, 5 ministers and prominent leaders of the party, and at least 33 sitting MLAs, have not made it to the list and are not contesting. A Vijayaraghavan party’s acting secretary said that they have zeroed in on the candidates after weighing many factors and had to forego some of the seats to accommodate new allies.