KOTTAYAM: With the Oommen Chandy era coming to an end, Group A in Congress has lost its hero. With this, many leaders who were silent in the group came into the scene with the Puthupally by-election in the horizon.

With Oommen Chandy ill and on rest, KC Joseph acted as the group leader. However, even in Kottayam, many are not ready to accept Joseph's leadership. Efforts to form sub-groups also intensified.

AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal has put forward the opinion that one from Chandy family should be the candidate in view of the possibility of a sympathy wave. But there were moves to prevent a unanimous opinion within the family.

Chandy Oommen's speech at the commemoration meeting, in which he thanked those who had paid their respects during the mourning journey, was noted among the people in Puthupally as if he had confirmed his candidacy. However, there is an allegation that a leader has entered the field as a consensus candidate. Criticism is that the move to stir the pool was started even though it was known that the chances of winning were low if an Oommen Chandy family member did not enter the fray.