KOCHI: At the time when talks on candidate selection were going full throttle in the district Congress on the party’s choice for the Tripunithura assembly seat, former MLA and Minister K Babu's chances of getting a ticket from the A-list constituency appeared to have become more and more remote.
The allegations levelled against Babu in the bar bribery case, who as then sitting MLA from Tripunithura had lost to M Swaraj of the CPM in the 2016 polls, and the need to give a chance to fresh faces were flagged by those opposed to fielding the veteran leader this time around.
However, Babu's proximity to Oommen Chandy meant that the latter prevailed upon the Congress high command to secure a seat for his protege. And when the Congress rolled out its list of candidates on Sunday, it was K Babu's name – after all the uncertainty that had prevailed over his candidature in the initial stages – which became the talking point.
When KPCC chief Mullappally Ramachandran announced the candidates' list on Sunday, it emerged that
The New Indian Express had accurately forecast the names likely to figure in the list including that of K Babu. All the sitting MLAs got the nod while the debutants are Mathew Kuzhalnadan (Muvattupuzha), Tony Chammany (Kochi) and Deepak Joy (Vypeen).
Deepak (37), who was the councillor from Ayyappankavu Division during 2015 to 2020, had worked through the party ranks. He was the district general secretary of Youth Congress and KSU. By fielding Deepak, the party is pinning hopes on wresting the Vypeen seat from the LDF.
Meanwhile, the candidature of Tony Chammany in the Kochi seat was hardly a surprise since his name had done the rounds during the 2016 assembly polls also. Now, by giving a chance to Chammany in the coming polls, Congress hopes to recapture the seat from the CPM.
Party leaders believe that Chammany's popularity and his image as a former mayor known for his can-do image will give him an edge in the elections.In Muvattupuzha, a high range area, Congress is trying to get an upper hand by fielding Mathew Kuzhalnadan.
A former state president at the All India Professional Congress, Mathew, who was also a visiting faculty of the Indian Law Institute, had the opportunity to rub shoulders with legal luminaries like Kapil Sibal and K K Venugopal.
All the sitting Congress MLAs in the district -- PT Thomas (Thrikkakara), TJ Vinod (Ernakulam), VD Satheesan (Paravoor), VP Sajeendran (Kunnathunad), Roji M John (Angamaly), Anwar Sadath (Aluva) and Eldhose Kunnappilly(Perumbavoor) will contest again.