
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The candidate selection for the Palakkad assembly byelection is turning out to be a tough affair for the Congress with leaders pulling strings for their favourites. After the impressive victory in the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress leadership expects nothing short of a win in Palakkad and Alathur assembly constituencies.
At the same time, the Congress leadership is aware that a setback in Palakkad, being a general seat, would be treated as a failure of the state leadership. Hence, winnability has been placed as the prime criterion. However, as sitting Palakkad MP V K Sreekandan and former Palakkad MLA and current Vadakara MP Shafi Parambil are batting for their favourites, a tough challenge awaits the leadership. Youth Congress state president Rahul Mamkootathil and party digital media convener P Sarin are the favourites.
The names of former ambassador Venu Rajamony, KPCC vice-president nd former Thrithala MLA V T Balram and former KSU state president K M Abhijith are also being considered. However, the main contenders are Rahul, who has the support of Shafi, and Sarin who is supported by Sreekandan.
Being the previous MLA of the constituency with a support base cutting across party politics, Shafi’s opinion is crucial. Apart from that, Shafi has considerable influence among a large section of the Muslim voters. “Though Shafi is considered an ‘A’ group leader, he has been keeping a close relationship with Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan.
A section of the leaders thinks that Shafi’s proposal should primarily be considered,” a KPCC office-bearer told TNIE on condition of anonymity. Meanwhile, V K Sreekandan’s support to P Sarin’s candidature is considered a huge challenge for Rahul. The KPCC leadership can hardly dismiss Sreekandan’s opinion given his huge victory margin in the recent Lok Sabha election. However, those supporting Rahul have pointed out Sarin’s low profile as a drawback.
The leaders supporting Sarin are of the view that a candidate from within the constituency would be ideal to fight a byelection. They point out that Rahul, being a native of Adoor in Pathanamthitta district, cannot be as suitable as Sarin. And the leadership knows that selecting either of them is a challenge. Meanwhile, some party leaders wanted K M Abhijith as a compromise candidate if a tussle breaks out between the factions supporting Shafi and Sreekandan.
According to them, if Shafi can represent the Vadakara constituency being a Kozhikode native, Abhijith can represent Palakkad too. Further, the clean image of Abhijith is a plus point. Though V T Balram had reportedly made some moves earlier, no one in the Congress sees him winning from Palakkad. His derogatory comments against A K Gopalan had invited criticism even from the Congress and the UDF.
“Shafi and Sreekandan had won in Palakkad by attracting the broader Left votes. If Balram is the candidate, the party doesn’t have a chance,” a DCC member said. The Congress leadership is unhappy with Venu Rajamony, as his inconsistent stand has been deemed a negative aspect by a large section of leaders.