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Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 17 (IANS) A quiet but noticeable change is emerging in the political arena of Thiruvananthapuram, with a large number of journalists moving out of newsrooms and straight into electoral politics.
Thiruvananthapuram Corporation has long been a springboard to bigger political roles – many of its former councilors have become MLAs and ministers. Education Minister V. Sivankutty once served as mayor, while current Food Minister GR Anil started his political journey as a councilor here.
This year, two well-known journalists – both former office-bearers of the prestigious Trivandrum Press Club – are contesting the civic elections, each as independent despite their long association with the CPI(M).
Radhakrishnan, who has served as both president and secretary of the Press Club for the last seven years, is contesting from the Kannanmulla ward. He faces a tough four-cornered contest against the incumbent Left councilor and candidates from BJP and Congress.
In Ulloor ward, veteran journalist K. Srikantan, who recently retired from the CPI(M) party’s daily Deshabhimani, initially began campaigning under the impression that he would be the official CPI(M) candidate.
However, when the final list was announced, his name was replaced by another party worker. Feeling neglected, Srikantan launched an independent bid and publicly accused senior CPI(M) leader and former minister Kadakampally Surendran of planning to oust him. His rebellion made a lot of headlines in the local media.
Journalists turning towards politics is not a new thing in Kerala. State health minister Veena George famously moved from prime-time television anchoring to contest elections as a CPI(M) candidate in 2016, defeating a senior Congress leader.
She retained her seat in 2021 and now holds the high-profile health portfolio. The same year, the party fielded popular journalist MV Nikesh Kumar, who lost by a slim margin but is widely expected to secure another ticket in 2026. He has already moved away from journalism.
While most media professionals view politics as a viable – and sometimes final – career frontier, observers say this trend reflects Kerala’s unique political culture, where journalists often leverage public credibility and familiarity to make successful transitions into public life.
–IANS
SG/SKP