Falling in line with the tough stand adopted by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) leadership, the Ernakulam District Congress Committee decided to field Soumini Jain as its Mayor candidate for the Kochi Corporation.
The decision also drew curtains on the backroom manoeuvrings and attempts of a section of the Congress legislators and ‘A’ faction leaders to pitchfork Shyny Mathew, a newcomer to the post, which almost led to an internal revolt in the party. The legislators continued to campaign for the greenhorn till the final hours of the day despite KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran specifically instructing the party leadership not to consider the newcomer for the post.
The KPCC leadership also despatched its general secretary P.M. Suresh Babu to Kochi following reports of attempts to promote the first timer over the head of seniors in the council violating the party dictates.
Following the developments, the party leadership also strictly warned the district leadership for the second day on Tuesday that any violation of its guidelines would be dealt with sternly. This forced the Congress leadership to narrow down its choice to Ms. Jain.
Though there were attempts to reach an understanding in the ‘A’ faction to equally share the five-year term between Ms. Jain and Ms. Mathew, the KPCC leadership ruled out any such arrangement and indicated that Ms. Jain and T.J. Vinod, Deputy Mayor nominee, would continue in their offices for the full term of five years. The candidature of Ms. Mathew was in violation of the instructions, said KPCC sources.
