THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has announced that it will not run in the May 31 by-election in Thirikkakara. P.C. Cyriac, the party's state convenor and a retired Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary, told a press conference in Kochi on Sunday that the party would not contest the bypoll since winning a single seat would make no difference.

He stated that his party will contest for all 140 Assembly seats in the upcoming elections and will seize power in the state by launching public-beneficial projects. The decision was made by the party's national committee in New Delhi, said the state convenor. He said, the AAP has a policy of not contesting by-elections in states where it does not have power, adding that  the AAP will run in all of the constituencies in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Following the death of the sitting MLA, P. T. Thomas, a by-election was called, and his wife, Uma Thomas, is running on a Congress platform. Dr. Joe Joseph, a cardiologist at a prestigious Kochi private hospital, will run on a CPI-M ticket. The BJP's state senior vice president, A.N. Radhakrishnan, will run as the party's candidate.

The AAP officials claimed that they conducted extensive polls in the constituency and found that residents are eager for change, but that the party will not run in the elections because its emphasis is on the 2024 general elections.

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