THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
If the latest news coming out from the Congress in Kerala is to be believed and if it turns out to be true, then it is certainly going to be a surprise for many.
Kerala will go to the polls on April 6 and the votes will be counted on May 2. If sources are to be taken seriously, out of the 90 seats which the Congress party will contest in the 140 member Kerala Assembly — 75 that are to be decided by State Congress president Mullapally Ramachandran, might have only one candidate from the party per seat.
“I really cannot believe, if this is true because such a thing has never ever happened in the past. Generally what happens is that for one seat, there will be at least four or five names and is basically done to placate all the faction leaders in the party and is seen as a recognition for those who figure in the list, even though, only one will eventually contest.
“Well let us wait and see if this new trend is true,” said a senior Congress leader on condition of anonymity.
Ramachandran, however, is tight-lipped and all that he said was things were shaping up well and everything would be clear by next week, which will not only include finalising of the distribution of seats with the allies of the United Democratic Front, but also the list of the Congress candidates.
In the 2016 Assembly elections, the Congress contested in 87 seats and won in 22 and this time the Congress party will contest in more than 90 seats.
The party has cleared the name of 21 sitting legislators and veteran K.C.Joseph, who has won a record eight times from Irkkur seat in Kannur district, is seeking for a change. In all likelihood, Joseph will contest from the Changancherry seat in his home district Kottayam.
Even though the final list would have to be cleared by the national President Sonia Gandhi, this time according to top sources, the only agenda before the state and national leaders who matter when it came to candidate selection, was “winability” of the candidate.
The only “yardstick” was considered after a survey by two independent agencies.
The list is expected to be heartbreaking for seasoned veterans, who have featured in a few elections, but have failed to win and it was expected to be harbinger of new beginnings for the youth and women.
