Only two persons have filed their nomination papers as candidates for the Lok Sabha polls in Kozhikode district so far, even as the nominations close on April 4.
Most of the major party candidates for the Kozhikode Lok Sabha constituency, including the Left Democratic Front (LDF) nominee Elamaram Kareem and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) nominee M.T. Ramesh, are yet to file the nominations. M.K. Raghavan, the United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate, filed his nominations on Saturday.
M. Jyothiraj of Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) is the only other person who has filed nominations in the district. He is contesting from the Kozhikode Lok Sabha segment. The major candidates for the Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency such as LDF nominee K.K. Shailaja, UDF nominee Shafi Parambil and NDA nominee C.R. Praphul Krishanan are also to file their nominations in the coming days.
The filing of nominations was opened in the district on March 28, and will be open till April 4. However, nominations are not accepted on March 29, 31 and April 1, under the Negotiable Instruments Act, which gives candidates only three days more to file the nominations. The nominations for both the constituencies in the district are accepted at the collectorate by the respective returning officers. District Collector Snehil Kumar Singh is the Returning Officer for the Kozhikode Lok Sabha segment while Sub Collector Harshil R. Meena is the Assistant Returning Officer.
Additional District Magistrate K. Ajeesh is the Returning Officer for the Vadakara segment while Revenue Divisional Officer Anwar Sadath is the Assistant Returning Officer.
The nominations can be filed either by the candidates themselves or by one of their supporters who has his/her vote in the constituency, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on these three days. The scrutiny will be carried out on April 5 while the last date for withdrawal of nominations is April 8, after which the final list of candidates will be announced.
