"It Is Going To Be Shashi Tharoor's Term Again": Actor Prakash Raj

Actor Prakash Raj expressed confidence that Congress candidate Shashi Tharoor, who is seeking re-election from the Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, is going to win this time again.

Speaking with ANI, Mr Raj said, "I find this (Thiruvananthapuram) constituency has received a lot from Congress leader Shashi Tharoor. It is going to be his term again. I am here to just stand by him, not because he is a great friend of mine, but because he has given me for the last decade hope, happiness and joy that I have a voice with such a representative of the country."

He is up against a two-front contest against Union Minister of State, Rajeev Chandrashekhar and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Panniyan Ravindran.

Mr Tharoor, who has held the seat since 2009, is facing a challenge as the BJP has named a strong face against him. Chandrashekhar has served as the MoS for Electronics, Entrepreneurship and Information Technology.

Although CPI-M is part of the INDIA bloc, it is not in any seat-sharing agreement with the Congress party in the state of Kerala. The CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) has fielded CPI leader Pannyan Raveendran from the constituency, who won the seat in 2005.

All 20 Lok Sabha constituencies in Kerala will vote in a single phase on April 26. Counting will be held on June 4.

In 2019, the Congress party registered victory on 19 out of the 20 seats while CPI-M could only win one seat. The BJP failed to open its account.

The BJP has never won a Lok Sabha seat in Kerala, the party registered a victory in the Thiruvananthapuram district just once, with O Rajagopal winning the Nemom assembly seat in 2016.

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