Congress ‘ends’ Kerala dilemma; names all 92 candidates, no MP makes cut
Pacifies Kannur MP who had threatened to quit for not being fielded in state polls
The Congress late on Thursday named all its 92 candidates for the Kerala Assembly elections, with no sitting MP featuring in the second and final list unveiled today.
With the declaration of all the candidates, the Congress appears to have addressed the dilemma it was facing for many days – whether to field sitting MPs in the Assembly poll.
The pressure was immense, with Kannur Lok Sabha MP K Sudhakaran even threatening to quit over being denied an Assembly ticket. It took former Defence Minister AK Antony to convince Sudhakaran to fall in line. The MP, who was in Delhi, appeared placated and announced late tonight that he won’t contest without the permission of the party.
Sources say Sudhakaran had nearly quit the party and said goodbyes, but Congress strategists moved in quickly to control the damage. However, whether he has been finally appeased remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, some other Congress MPs from Kerala are also said to have privately expressed a desire to the top brass to contest state elections. But the Congress decided against fielding MPs to honour Kerala’s 2024 Lok Sabha mandate, when, along with allies, it won 19 of 20 Lok Sabha seats, posting its highest strike anywhere in India.
Further, fielding of MPs would have given the ruling LDF ammunition on the poll eve and an impression to the voters that the state Congress leadership was inadequately positioned for the contest.
Importantly, buzz is that even the powerful AICC general secretary organisation KC Venugopal, MP from Kerala, wants to be Chief Minister should the Congress win.
