THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the deadline for filing nominations for the Youth Congress state president election ends on Wednesday, a final picture has emerged. While the ‘A’ group has finalised Rahul Mamkoottathil as its candidate, the nominee of the ‘I’ group is Abin Varkey. K C Venugopal loyalist Binu Chulliyil and some rebels are also in the fray.
The ‘A’ group has zeroed in on Rahul following pressure from incumbent YC state president Shafi Parambil. However, a serious allegation has come up that Rahul was not the choice of veteran leader Oommen Chandy. The name of Rahul was finalised after marathon talks attended by UDF convener M M Hassan, Benny Behanan, K C Joseph, P C Vishnunadh, Shafi and the three aspirants — Rahul, NSUI general secretary K M Abhijith and YC national coordinator J S Akhil — in Kochi till Tuesday morning.
Senior leaders of the ‘A’ group finally agreed on Shafi’s choice as they didn’t want to ruffle his feathers. They are keen to see a young and vibrant leader like Shafi taking centre stage.
However, the group leaders told TNIE that it was a unanimous decision. “When there’s an election, there will be a few aspirants. We unanimously chose Rahul as ‘A’ group’s nominee,” said a senior group leader.
However, the other contenders beg to differ. Much to the embarrassment of the ‘A’ group leadership, YC state general secretary Vishnu Sunil Pandalam filed for nomination as a rebel. Two more youth leaders from ‘A’ group - YC state secretary S P Anish and state general secretary V P Dulkhifil - plan to file nominations. With this, more leaders from ‘A’ group could be in the fray.
Speaking to TNIE, one of the aspirants who sought anonymity, said Rahul was selected against Oommen Chandy’s wishes. He maintained that youth leaders were duped by the leadership, including Shafi Parambil. It is learnt that there was opposition against Rahul from youth leaders who allege that he has not been part of the ‘A’ group and has not actively taken part in protests.
“The merit to become the YC state president is to look good, get the gift of the gab and attend television debates. It seems youth leaders who do not attend protests and agitations get priority,” said a disgruntled YC leader. The enrollment in the YC voter list will be on July 29. The poll outcome will be announced on August 1.