Congress gears up for Parliament elections; 14 sitting MPs ready for re-election

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran is currently under active consideration by the Congress for the parliamentary elections in Kannur. This situation arises as KPCC president K Sudhakaran who is presently the MP for Kannur has opted not to participate in the race.

The KPCC leadership is increasing pressure to nominate KC Venugopal, the organization's general secretary, in Alappuzha which was the only seat Congress lost in 2019. The goal is to secure victory for the UDF in all 20 seats. Former Alappuzha MP and current Rajya Sabha member Venugopal has not yet clarified his position. Fourteen other Congress seats in UDF currently have sitting MPs so the competition is likely. The state leadership is adamant that Rahul Gandhi should once again be a candidate in Wayanad, even though it is the seat of the CPI in the LDF.

Although there have been demands for Rahul Gandhi to move to a seat in Karnataka to avoid competing with another prominent candidate, KPCC leadership has rejected this suggestion. If Rahul were to move to Karnataka, the leadership would likely demand that Priyanka Gandhi contest in Wayanad. Vadakara's sitting MP, K Muralidharan has stated that he will not contest again. However, it has been clarified that the party's decision is final.

Among the other sitting Congress MPs, Shashi Tharoor (Thiruvananthapuram), Adoor Prakash (Attingal), Kodikunnil Suresh (Mavelikkara), Anto Antony (Pathanamthitta), Dean Kuriakos (Idukki), Hiby Eden (Ernakulam), Benny Behanan (Chalakkudy), T. N. Prathapan (Thrissur), Ramya Haridas (Alathur), VK Sreekantan (Palakkad), MK Raghavan (Kozhikode) and Rajmohan Unnithan (Kasargod) will contest again.

Within the UDF constituent parties, Thomas Chazhikadan's Kerala Congress wing, which won Kottayam last time, is now part of the LDF. This time, this seat belongs to the Joseph Group within the UDF. Names like Francis George and PC Thomas are being considered. As usual, the Muslim League is requesting a third seat, but it may not be possible to grant it. Abdus Samad Samadani in Malappuram and ET Muhammad Basheer in Ponnani may contest again. NK Premachandran from Kollam will be the RSP candidate.