Chandy Oommen, son of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, has thrown his hat in the ring for the Youth Congress elections, to be held on June 3 and 4. He is making his debut in an electoral contest from Kerala for the first time and is contesting for the post of general secretary.
The younger Chandy’s presence in the fray has given a sharp edge to factional politics, reflecting the current situation in the Congress party in the State.
The younger Chandy was an office-bearer in the NSU while he was studying in Delhi. Elections in the Youth Congress are being held on parliamentary constituency basis and Chandy will be contesting from Mavelikara seat.
In the contest for the post of general secretary, he will be pitted against Rajesh Chandradas of the ‘I’ group. Elections are taking place to 20 seats and 14 office-bearers in the State committee, including to the key posts of president and two general secretaries. The stamp of Oommen Chandy can be seen in the selection of candidates of the ‘A’ group. Dean Kuriakose of the ‘A’ group is pitted against P. R. Mahesh of the ‘I’ group for the post of president. Jebi Mather, daughter of KPCC general secretary K M. I. Mather and sister of Shafi Mather, economic advisor to the Chief Minister, is in the fray against Adam Munshi of the ‘I’ group.
There are allegations that the candidates that have been fielded by rival groups do not conform to the usual practice of ensuring proper representation for candidates belonging to difference sections of society.
