Amidst speculations that the Congress is looking to field its candidate in Kottayam for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Kerala Congress on Thursday clarified that there was no question of handing the seat over to any other party.
“The rumours that the Congress will contest from Kottayam are baseless. There is no doubt that the Kerala Congress will represent the UDF in the constituency,” Kerala Congress chairman P.J. Joseph told media persons.
The party already kick-started preparatory works for the election with a two-day-long camp at Pala, which concluded on Friday. “Discussions on seat sharing are yet to begin in the UDF camp. But as far as Kottayam is concerned, there are no second thought at all that we have a natural claim over the seat,’’ added Mr. Joseph.
As the Idukki seat went to the Congress last time, Kerala Congress is counting on wresting Kottayam from its arch rival Kerala Congress (M) by fielding a formidable candidate. It also expects the sizeable presence of Christian voters in the constituency to work in its favour.
Right from Mr. Joseph, P.C. Thomas to senior leader Francis George, several names have been doing the rounds within the party as its prospective candidate. While Mr. Joseph, who is yet to win an election to the Lok Sabha, had expressed his willingness to contest from the seat earlier, Mr. Thomas had contested as an NDA candidate.
A section within the Congress, however, has already urged the party leadership not to sacrifice the Kottayam seat for the sake of accommodating the Kerala Congress in the UDF.
An alternative proposal to give the Idukki seat to the Kerala Congress instead of Kottayam too has been under active consideration of the party.
