THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Dismissing rumours of contesting from the Nemom constituency in Thiruvananthapuram district in the upcoming Assembly elections, Congress Working Committee leader Oommen Chandy has made it clear that his association with Puthupally is a constant factor in his life.
In a statement, the 77-year-old former Chief Minister said that his life is closely linked with the Puthupally constituency which he has been representing for five decades. It is learnt that KPCC president Mullapally Ramachandran came up with the proposal to wrest the seat from the BJP.
Over the last several days, rumours have been rife that a section of the Congress is keen to field a 'bigwig' from Nemom which is the sole seat of the BJP after O Rajagopal opened the saffron party's innings in the last Legislative Assembly elections in 2016. After television channels came up with 'breaking news' that Chandy was likely to contest from one of the seats in Thiruvananthapuram district, he came out with an official statement rubbishing it.
"It is the KPCC leadership and Congress high command which will take a call on the candidature. Puthupally has been a constant factor in my life and there will be no change in it," said Chandy. He also urged people to stop circulating fake news related to his candidature.
The plan being envisaged by a section of the Congress is that when the former CM is fielded from Nemom, his son Chandy Oommen can make his debut from Puthupally. Earlier, there were reports that Chandy Oommen who is a practising lawyer in Supreme Court will be fielded from Vattiyoorkavu to take on sitting CPM MLA V K Prasanth.
Currently, the first round of bilateral talks has been completed by the Congress with its UDF allies. Once the seat sharing mechanism with the allies has been completed, the finalising of Congress candidates will be taken up. Mullapally reiterated his stand citing that Oommen Chandy’s acceptance as a leader of repute would help the party to cash in on the situation. Party leaders behind the proposal hope that the former CM's popularity can be leveraged in Thiruvananthapuram and neighbouring districts like Kollam where the UDF did not get a single seat in the last Assembly elections.