After days of marathon negotiations, intra-party squabbles and persuasions, advocate C. Robert Bruce, 62, of Saralvilai near Kattathurai in Kanniyakumari district has been fielded in Tirunelveli Parliamentary constituency as the Congress candidate.
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Sources in the Congress said the delay in announcing the candidate to take on BJP’s Nainar Nagenthran was due to the intense race among the aspirants in getting the ticket who left no stone unturned to achieve their political goal.
Congress MLA from Nanguneri Ruby R. Manoharan, managing director of Chennai-based Ruby Builders, wanted to be fielded as the party’s candidate in Tirunelveli Parliamentary constituency. However, the proposal triggered an instant resistance from Paulraj, another aspirant for the same segment.
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Even as the Congress and the DMK were hesitant of fielding Mr. Manoharan as his election to the Lok Sabha would cause a bypoll for Nanguneri Assembly segment, his case was rejected and the MLA wanted his son Ashok to be fielded as the candidate.
When the supporters of former MP and chairman of State Minorities Commission S. Peter Alphonse be fielded in Tirunelveli, he was not reportedly inclined to the proposal.
Meanwhile, Mr. Robert Bruce, who was trying on several occasions in the past to get the ticket for the then Nagercoil Parliamentary constituency, which has been rechristened as Kanniyakumari segment after delimitation, too entered the race for Tirunelveli segment as sitting MP of Kanniyakumari Vijay Vasanth was preferred over Mr. Robert.
After days of negotiations, the Congress high command has fielded Mr. Robert Bruce, an All India Congress Committee member, in Tirunelveli constituency. He had served as the AICC observer for Telengana Assembly elections and Thiruvananthapuram Parliamentary constituency in the 2019 election.