AICC plan may hit Oomen Chandy hard
Congress high command will announce CM candidate only after the elections.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With AICC leadership deciding to name the chief minister candidate of the Congress post-Assembly election, it has come as a major blow to KPCC leadership especially Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and home minister Ramesh Chennithala.
KPCC president V. M. Sudheeran's candidature would also be decided post-elections. But in all likelihood, Mr Sudheeran would be asked to contest from his home town of Manaloor in Thrissur or Kollam town which would held an Ezhava consolidation in its favour.
But Mr Chandy is not bothered whether he would be projected as CM candidate now or later as he is confident of things coming in favour of him eventually. He is confident of the mass support he has garnered despite him being linked to solar and bar scams.
However, Mr Chennithala is not so confident of re-contesting from Haripad and wanted to move to Vattiyoorkavu where K. Muraleedharan is the sitting MLA. An agitated Mr Muraleedharan threatened the KPCC leadership by publicly stating that if he did not get Vattiyoorkavu, he would not contest the 2016 Assembly elections.
“Chandy, Sudheeran and Chennithala are equally competent to be the Chief Minister. But now the role before the AICC is to prepare the KPCC for the elections. Party president Sonia Gandhi will decide on the CM candidate post-Assembly elections because there are many parameters included in the selection,” said a top AICC leader.
The sub-committee appointed by the KPCC to finalise the candidature would be having its first sitting at KPCC on Wednesday at 4 pm. The three leaders will be attending the meeting.
AICC leaders have the opinion that the presence of Mr Sudheeran has strengthened the party to a great extent amid solar and bar scams.
Meanwhile, his graffiti have come up at various places in Manaloor.
Dipak Babaria, the AICC secretary in charge of the State, will be holding talks with DCC level leaders as well as local level leaders belonging to various Assembly constituencies in Thiruvananthapuram district starting from Wednesday.