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Parties woo stars for Kerala assembly poll

With pre-poll surveys indicating a close fight between two traditional rivals in the coming assembly polls in Kerala, Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) led by the Congress have turned to film stars to give them an upper hand.
The actors and actresses being wooed by the two fronts are Mukesh, Jagdish, Nedumudi Venu, Sreenivasan, Siddique and Sheela. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is yet to win an assembly or Lok Sabha seat in the state, is also trying to rope in action hero Suresh Gopi to break the jinx.
The Congress, which is reeling under anti-incumbency, is learnt to have already clinched a deal with Jagidsh to take on his actor colleague K B Ganesh Kumar, who left the UDF camp in the wake of a domestic violence case filed against him by his ex-wife.
The two are expected to test their popularity at Pathanapuram in Quilon district, from where Ganesh has won the election twice. Congress sources said that Jagdish had agreed to become the party candidate. However, Jagdish said he will comment on the contest only after the Congress released the candidate list.
Yesteryear glamorous heroine Sheela is also said to be willing to enter the fray under the Congress banner. However, the party has not been successful in persuading Siddique to enter the electoral fray at Aroor in Aleppey district. The actor has refused to contest the election, according to sources close to him. However, senior Congress leaders are trying to persuade him.
Mukesh, who has openly identified with the Communist Party of India (CPI), the second largest constituent of the LDF, is willing to enter the fray.
However, the CPI has still not identified a seat for him so far. Mukesh is looking for a seat in his home district of Quilon.
The CPM, which had successfully fielded comedian Innocent in the Lok Sabha polls at Chalakkudy, is trying to rope in Nedumdi Venu and Sreenivasan. Both the actors have not revealed their mind so far.
Unlike their counterparts in Tamil and Telugu, Malayalam film stars have been wary of entering poll fray as they have realised that glamour alone won't matter in the elections in the highly politically enlightened Kerala. Barring Ganesh Kumar and Innocent, no film personality has won any election.
Those who suffered humiliation include late actor Murali and well-known film maker Lenin Rajendran. While Murali lost the Lok Sabha election to present Congress chief V M Sudheeran at Aleppey, Lenin Rajendran was humbled by former president K R Narayanan at Ottapalam.
The election, which is slated to be held in April-May, is considered crucial for both the Congress and the CPM, which have been losing ground in the rest of the country. While the very survival of the CPM is hinges on the outcome in Kerala, the Congress wants a victory for its resurrection at the national level.
news@khaleejtimes.com

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