Lok Sabha elections 2019: Taken by surprise, Congress may field senior leaders
TNN | Mar 8, 2019, 14:17 IST
Image used for representational purpose onlyTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Congress party's candidate selection plan has been left in disarray by the news of the CPM deciding to field many heavyweights in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The KPCC is now forced to have a rethink in many seats with the compulsion to field senior leaders in the fray.
Meanwhile, the party screening committee will meet on Sunday and senior party leaders will be flying to New Delhi on Monday to finalize the line up with the AICC leadership.
With the CPM deciding to field many of its popular MLAs, the demand for veterans Oommen Chandy, V M Sudheeran and Mullappally Ramachandran to contest has increased. "Since this is a 'do-or-die' election for the Congress, winnability will be the only criterion for candidate selection," said KPCC president Mullappally.
The KPCC, sources say, is also thinking of fielding some of its star MLAs to take on the CPM. Adoor Prakash in Attingal, Hibi Eden in Ernakulam, Shafi Parambil in Palakkad and Oommen Chandy in Idukki are the probables, it is learnt. Apart from this, V M Sudheeran or T N Prathapan in Thrissur, Benny Behnnan in Chalakkudy, Shanimol Usman or T Siddique in Wayanad, K Sudhakaran in Kannur are the other party heavyweights being considered.
However, the final decision has to come from the party high command and hence the discussions in New Delhi will be crucial. "The high command will take a decision on whether the leaders like Chandy, Sudheeran, K C Venugopal and Ramachandran should be fielded. If the high command insists, then the leaders will have to abide by it," said a senior party leader.
As of now, apart from the sitting MPs, there has been no consensus on a single candidate in the other seats. Among the sitting MPs, there is stiff opposition within the party to the fielding of Anto Antony and K V Thomas from their respective seats.
The AICC will finalize the list after Sunday's meeting in Delhi with Ramachandran, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and AICC general secretaries Chandy and Venugopal. The KPCC wants to come out with the names before March 15 since the CPM will be finalizing its list in a day or two.
Meanwhile, the party screening committee will meet on Sunday and senior party leaders will be flying to New Delhi on Monday to finalize the line up with the AICC leadership.
With the CPM deciding to field many of its popular MLAs, the demand for veterans Oommen Chandy, V M Sudheeran and Mullappally Ramachandran to contest has increased. "Since this is a 'do-or-die' election for the Congress, winnability will be the only criterion for candidate selection," said KPCC president Mullappally.
The KPCC, sources say, is also thinking of fielding some of its star MLAs to take on the CPM. Adoor Prakash in Attingal, Hibi Eden in Ernakulam, Shafi Parambil in Palakkad and Oommen Chandy in Idukki are the probables, it is learnt. Apart from this, V M Sudheeran or T N Prathapan in Thrissur, Benny Behnnan in Chalakkudy, Shanimol Usman or T Siddique in Wayanad, K Sudhakaran in Kannur are the other party heavyweights being considered.
However, the final decision has to come from the party high command and hence the discussions in New Delhi will be crucial. "The high command will take a decision on whether the leaders like Chandy, Sudheeran, K C Venugopal and Ramachandran should be fielded. If the high command insists, then the leaders will have to abide by it," said a senior party leader.
As of now, apart from the sitting MPs, there has been no consensus on a single candidate in the other seats. Among the sitting MPs, there is stiff opposition within the party to the fielding of Anto Antony and K V Thomas from their respective seats.
The AICC will finalize the list after Sunday's meeting in Delhi with Ramachandran, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and AICC general secretaries Chandy and Venugopal. The KPCC wants to come out with the names before March 15 since the CPM will be finalizing its list in a day or two.
more from times of india Cities
LATEST VIDEOS
City
On cam: Taxi driver saves life of a passenger from coming under the wheels of train in Agra00:53- Miraculous escape for Golden Baba as SUV collides with divider on Yamuna Expressway01:13
- Chennai: 70-year-old operates wooden raft across Adyar for Rs 2 to make ends meet01:22
- Pune: Tiny 2-month-old leopard cub found by villagers, reunited with its mother02:03
All Comments ()+^ Back to Top
Refrain from posting comments that are obscene, defamatory or inflammatory, and do not indulge in personal attacks, name calling or inciting hatred against any community. Help us delete comments that do not follow these guidelines by marking them offensive. Let's work together to keep the conversation civil.
HIDE