THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as uncertainty prevails on the candidature of Rahul Gandhi and K C Venugopal, hectic lobbying is on in the party for the two high-profile seats -- Wayanad and Alappuzha. It’s almost certain that in Kannur sitting MP K Sudhakaran will defend his seat as the AICC leadership wants to maintain community equations.
With the central leadership asking Rahul to take a call on trying to retain the Wayanad seat -- or move to another seat in south India -- a slew of aspirants have started lobbying for the constituency. Chief among them is Shanimol Osman, who received a setback in the 2019 LS election in her native Alappuzha.
A senior leader close to Shanimol said she fears that her own party colleagues would ensure her defeat if she contests the assembly election from Alappuzha.
“This has forced Shanimol to look for a winnable seat like Wayanad. Apart from Shanimol, KPCC general secretaries P M Niyaz and Aryadan Shoukath and former minister P K Jayalakshmi are also keen on landing the seat. These aspirants will keep on lobbying until the party’s central election authority announces the candidate list either on Monday or Tuesday,” the senior leader told TNIE.
Similarly, many aspirants have set their eyes on Alappuzha under the impression that Venugopal might not relinquish his RS seat from Rajasthan as his term ends only by June 2026. In case he does not contest, then the ticket might go in favour of Youth Congress state president Rahul Mamkootathil. With a dearth of winnable candidates from Alappuzha district, the party could be forced to opt for Rahul.
In the case of Kannur, the AICC leadership is firm on the stand that none other than Sudhakaran should taken on CPM district secretary M V Jayarajan. Other hopefuls from Kannur include Youth Congress state general secretary V P Abdul Rasheed and AICC spokesperson Dr Shama Mohammed.
The central leadership is firm that at least two women, besides a minority and two Ezhava candidates should be in the fray.
Sudhakaran and Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan are planning to leave for New Delhi on Monday morning for talks.