Former Kerala CM Oommen Chandy pitches for Benny Behanan; PJ Kurien pushing for another Rajya Sabha term

Hectic lobbying by various Congress factions from Kerala was the order of the day in Delhi for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from the state.

Veteran Congress leader PJ Kurien (File | PTI)

KOCHI: Hectic lobbying by various Congress factions from Kerala was the order of the day in Delhi for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from the state. While Oommen Chandy put his weight behind Benny Behanan, three-time RS member P J Kurien used his good rapport among senior party leaders to push his case for another term.

Sources said Oommen Chandy, who will assume charge as AICC general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh on Thursday, wanted the RS seat to go to his close confidante Behanan, the former MLA from Thrikkakara. According to sources, as Behanan ‘sacrificed’ a winning seat in favour of P T Thomas in the last Assembly elections, Chandy feels he should get the RS seat set to fall vacant at the end of Kurien’s term this month.

Kurien, however, is not in a mood to give up without a fight. “Kurien is close friends with several senior leaders in Congress and in the BJP. He has been the Deputy Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha. He is using these contacts to ensure he gets another term,” said a source, who is in Delhi.While the Congress revamp is also expected to come up during Rahul Gandhi’s meeting with senior leaders, sources said most of the confabulations in Delhi till now revolved around the RS seat.

Meanwhile, the young turks told ‘Express’ that they have full faith in AICC president Rahul Gandhi. “We have written to the party president. We are confident that Rahulji will consider the points raised by us for a generational change in the party in Kerala,” said one of the young MLAs who wished not to be named.
Young MLAs V T Balram, Hibi Eden, Roji M John, Anil Akkara and Shafi Parambil had demanded Kurien stay away from the Rajya Sabha poll to pave the way for a fresh face from Kerala. The names they suggested included Shanimol Usman and Mathew Kuzhalnadan, among others.