THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The manoeuvring required to resolve the intricacies of group politics within the Congress and its front dynamics is set to be tested in the coming days when the party leadership has to take a call on the Thiruvananthapuram constituency.
With both V S Sivakumar of the Congress and C P John, general secretary of the CMP, staking claim for the seat, the Congress leadership now finds itself in a difficult position.
While Sivakumar is keen on contesting from Thiruvananthapuram once again, the CMP has also laid claim to the constituency as part of the ongoing seat-sharing discussions with the alliance.
With both sides firm on their demands, the Congress leadership will have to strike a delicate balance to resolve the issue without triggering discontent that may affect UDF’s prospects in the forthcoming elections.
Sivakumar has informed Congress leadership that he will not contest election if he is denied a ticket in Thiruvananthapuram. To complicate the issue further, some leaders of KPCC and DCC have also opposed conceding the seat to CMP.
Sivakumar represented the constituency twice in the assembly and was defeated in the 2021 elections. He had also represented the constituency in the Lok Sabha.
According to Sivakumar’s associates, unless he is fielded from the constituency there are chances of the UDF losing the seat. “He has grassroots-level connections across the constituency and among different social groups,” said a Congress leader.
However, CMP, which had once represented the constituency (then Thiruvananthapuram West) after its leader M V Raghavan was elected to the assembly, claims that the party had already demanded the seat in writing.
“We have rights over the constituency as it is a sitting seat for us,” said a CMP leader. “Our general secretary C P John will contest from the seat if it is allotted to us,” he said.
The Congress had earlier tried to accommodate C P John in Thiruvambady constituency. However, the discussions over swapping Congress’ Pattambi assembly constituency with Muslim League’s Thiruvambady hit a roadblock after resistance from both sides.
V D Satheesan had given an assurance to the CMP that Congress would provide them with two winnable seats and John would be in the next assembly as an MLA. John is also the secretary of UDF, and there is an opinion among leadership that he should be accommodated.
A leader close to John told TNIE that if the seat is denied to CMP, chances of the party contesting alone in the assembly election cannot be ruled out. “It’s up to the Congress to decide,” he added.
