The Kerala Congress led by P.J.Joseph, an ally of the United Democratic Front, on Saturday released the list of the candidates for the 10 seats in which the party is contesting.
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As per the list, the regional party is slated to come face-to-face with the Kerala Congress (M) led by Jose K. Mani in as many as four seats - Kaduthuruthy, Thodupuzha, Idukki and Changanassery. The party leader and sitting legislator P.J. Joseph will face off the KC(M) leader K.I. Antony at Thodupuzha while Mons Joseph, MLA, will battle it out with the KC(M) general secretary Stephen George in Kaduthuruthy.
In Idukki, senior leader Francis George is being pitted against the KC(M) leader and sitting MLA, Roshy Augustine while in Changanassery, V. J. Laly will contest against the KC(M) leader Job Michael.
The list also features the name of M.P. Joseph, a former IAS officer and the son-in-law of the late Kerala Congress (M) patriarch K.M.Mani, who will be contesting from the Thrikkarippur assembly segment in Kasaragod. A 1978 batch officer, Mr. Joseph earlier served terms as Advisor (Labour Reforms, Industrial Relations), in the Rank of Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala and Executive Vice Chairman of Bhavanam Foundation Kerala, a public sector non-profit company fully owned by the State government.
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The other persons named in the list are-- Kunjukoshy Paul in Thiruvalla, Thomas Unniyadan in Irinjalakuda, Shibu Thekkumpuram in Kothamangalam, Jacob Abraham in Kuttanad and Prince Lukose in Ettumanur.
The candidature of Mr. Lukose in Ettumanur comes amidst strong protests within the party against the denial of seat to Saji Manjakadambil, Kottayam district unit president of the party. The Congress workers too had raised strong objections against allocating the seat to constituent party, which, according to them, did not command any significant presence in the segment.
Senior leader Joseph M.Puthussery and Victor T. Thomas, Pathanamthitta district unit president of the party, too have been denied tickets this time. Outraged by this decision, Mr.Thomas came out in the open against the party leadership and said that he would decide on the future course of action after a discussion with the party leader.
“Despite serving terms as the UDF convener in Pathanamthitta and a member of the party’s high-power committee, Joseph sir has over overlooked my claim over Thiruvalla. Moreover, the decision to field Mr.Paul, a former Janata Dal worker, has been taken without any consultations with the local leadership,” Mr.Thomas said.
Meanwhile, the party appears to have succeeded in pacifying Mr.Manjakadambil for the time being by awarding him the post of the UDF committee chairman in Kottayam. He now replaces Mons Joseph, who took over the post in October last year.