Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Bypolls: Congress begins search for candidates

Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress leadership has begun the search for candidates for the by-elections to three Assembly seats, vacated by its MLAs, K.C. Venugopal, K.V. Thomas and K. Sudhakaran, who have since been elected to the Lok Sabha.

Informal discussions have been launched by party leaders to identify the candidates who will help the party retain these seats. In fact, Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Kannur are prestigious for the Congress because it has won all the elections held in the past decade in these three seats. Also, the party has to prove that its Lok Sabha show was not a flash in the pan. No names have emerged so far, but it is generally believed that the three seats could go to those who lost out in the selection for the Lok Sabha election.

The Congress would find it difficult to get a replacement for K. Sudhakaran to contest from Kannur Assembly constituency. Mr. Sudhakaran has been winning the seat since 1991 mainly on account of the hardy campaigns he has conducted despite the shifts in factional loyalties during this period. Mr. Venugopal has been winning the Alappuzha seat since 1996, overcoming quite a few odds. Sources said Shanimol Usman and P.A. Shukoor are in the race. In Ernakulam, the party might consider fielding Hybee Eaden, but it is doubtful whether the high command will lift the bar on office-bearers of feeder organisations. Eaden is the president of the National Students Union. The other name that has a top billing is Dominique Presentation. Mr. Presentation has a strong base in Ernakulam and is also acceptable to the Latin Catholic church, it is said.

The final selection process would begin only after the KPCC executive meeting on May 29 carries out its preliminary evaluation of the Lok Sabha election results, sources said.

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