In a historic move, the Communist Party of India (CPI) has fielded Alankode Leelakrishnan, a renowned poet and cultural activist, as its candidate for the Thrissur constituency in the upcoming Kerala assembly polls.
Leelakrishnan, 66, is a graduate with a B.Com degree from MES Ponnani College and has a career spanning over four decades, including stints as an officer with Kerala Gramin Bank and a judge on the poetry-based reality show Mambazham.
He has also contributed to Malayalam cinema by writing stories, scripts, and songs for films such as Ekantham. Leelakrishnan's entry into active politics marks a shift from his literary and cultural work.
Contesting from the Thrissur constituency, Leelakrishnan is up against the BJP's Padmaja Venugopal and the Congress's Rajan J. Pallan. The Thrissur Assembly constituency has seen closely contested elections in recent years, with the CPI regaining the seat in 2016.
