KOCHI: In the wake of Congress leadership’s promise to field new faces and young women in the coming assembly elections, several names, including some familiar faces, are doing the rounds in party circles. Party insiders said KPCC is considering the names of Shama Mohammed, AICC spokesperson, Jebi Mather, KPCC secretary and former Youth Congress national secretary, and Nisha Purushothaman, Malayalam TV journalist.
The name of Shama, a dentist who is serving the party as national spokesperson, has come up in Kannur and Taliparamba constituencies. If IUML agrees to swap the Kalamassery seat with Congress for another, Jebi is likely to be the UDF candidate from there, a source said. The source said Congress is considering Nisha in Udumbanchola seat, where it had lost by just 1,109 votes in the last elections.
Apart from her familiarity as a media personality, Nisha’s family background — her father T G Purushothaman is a Congress leader who had for long served as president of Chakkupallam grama panchayat in Idukki — is also being factored in by the party. Though T G Purushothaman is no longer active in politics, his image as a Congressman who has remained immune to groupism in the party, makes him acceptable to all sections within Congress and society. By virtue of this, if his daughter were to be fielded, she will be able to garner votes in the seat currently represented by Power Minister M M Mani. CPM has been winning the seat since 2001. However, Congress is convinced it can not only give a tough fight but even break CPM’s winning streak. Meanwhile, Nisha told TNIE that reports on her candidature were mere speculation.
According to Ibrahimkutty Kallar, Idukki DCC president, “We hope Congress can wrest the seat this time. However, we have not proposed the names of anybody so far. The party will start candidate discussions only after February 5. I too have heard that Nisha Purushothaman is being considered in Udumbanchola, but from media reports only”.Though Shama’s name is being considered in Kannur and Taliparamba seats, it is learnt that she will prefer Kannur since her ancestral roots are there. She said she will contest the assembly elections if directed by the party.
“Both Rahul Gandhi and the KPCC said women and youth should be given preference. Let’s not forget that Kerala is one of the few states in India where women outnumber men. As announced by the senior leaders, if UDF fields more women and youth in the elections, the front will definitely win. Candidate selection is pretty crucial,” said Shama.
Lathika Subhash, Mahila Congress state president, Bindu Krishna, Kollam DCC president, P R Sona, KPCC general secretary and former chairperson of Kottayam municipality and Shanimol Usman, sitting MLA in Aroor, are the other prominent woman leaders, likely to figure in the Congress’ list of candidates.