KOCHI: With the statement of senior Congress leader K V Thomas that one assembly seat in the district should be allocated to a woman leader, heated discussions have begun in the party.In the 11 constituencies, out of 14 contested by the Congress in the district, fresh names will come up only in four seats — Kochi, Vypeen, Tripunithura, and Muvattupuzha — as sitting MLAs will try their luck in the remaining seats once again.
Leaders are eagerly waiting to see which seats will be allocated to women and who will be picked up for the contest. Though formal talks are yet to commence several names of probable candidates are coming up before the leadership. Party insiders feel Kochi assembly constituency is likely to be allocated for a woman leader as AICC has directed to maintain adequate representation for women.
Former PSC member Simi Rosebell John, former mayor Soumini Jain, AICC member Deepthi Mary Varghese, KPCC secretary Dolly Kuriakose, former Youth Congress national leaders Swapna Patronis and Jebi Mather are the prominent names doing rounds in various constituencies.Of these, Simi Rosebell John, Deepthi Mary Varghese, and Swapna Patronis are the names being considered for Kochi seat. Earlier, Congress leader and UDF district chairman Dominic Presentation also aired a view that Kochi seat would be allocated to a woman leader.
“The party has decided to field at least one woman in each district. However, the seats and candidates have not been finalised yet as a discussion in this regard has not begun,” said Dominic Presentation.The remarks made by K V Thomas has drawn flak as a section of leaders alleged that the veteran leader was eyeing to field his daughter in Kochi or Vypeen.
Rekha Thomas, daughter of Thomas, is an entrepreneur running distribution, homestays, tours and travels in Kochi. However, Thomas rubbished the allegations that there were plans to field his daughter. If IUML exchanges the Kalamassery seat to Congress, there is a possibility for Jebi Mather, former national secretary of Youth Congress. Jebi, a three-time councillor in Aluva municipality, was recently elected as vice-chairperson of the municipality. Deepthi Mary Varghese was also elected as a councillor from Karukappilly division of Kochi City Corporation.
Former mayor Soumini Jain is likely to be considered for the Tripunithura seat. However her chances are remote since she violated the party’s directive to step down as mayor after two-and-a-half years. If the Muvattupuzha seat is allocated to a woman contender, former district panchayat president and KPCC secretary Dolly Kuriakose, will be a good pick, feels party insiders.Interestingly, women leaders are optimistic that the party will consider more women this time. “Definitely, we hope to get good representation this time. The party has decided to make one seat mandatory for women in each district,” said Swapna Patronis, who also served in AICC’s data analytics department.