THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Following the footsteps of former CM Oommen Chandy, it will be Chandy Oommen who will seek a mandate from the Puthupally constituency. Late yesterday, Oommen Chandy’s daughter Achu Oommen cleared the air saying she has little interest to do active politics but named her brother as the sole politician currently existing in the Chandy clan.

Meanwhile, LDF has certain fortitude in the Puthupally constituency. Having power over five panchayaths and the incredible work that lowered Oommen Chandy’s majority to less than 10,000 in the 2021 elections is instilling a sea of hope in LDF camps. The Puthupally panchayath is also under the LDF rule. For a long 53 years, Oommen Chandy is representing Puthupally unrivaled.

KPCC President K Sudhakaran said that the candidate will be from the Puthupally family itself. Sudhakaran told the media that the party would accept the name suggested by the family. He also demanded that the CPM should show the gratis to avoid a race.

Earlier, Cherian Philip had also raised the same demand. He stated that Chandy Oommen has every right to be Oommen Chandy's successor in Puthupally.

Meanwhile, CPM has kickstarted works and has allotted party members each panchayath to focus on. The voter's list will be studied and the CPM cadres will help people aged 18 to get included in the voters list. In 2021 it was for the first time ever that Oommen Chandy went down in votes in the Manarcad region. Manarcad is known for its Jacobite population and it created an outre since the shift of allegiance towards CPM was not pre-empted.

It was CPM candidate Jaick C Thomas who reduced Oommen Chandy’s majority to 9044 votes. From reports emerging, it will be either Jaick or district secretariat member Reji Sakaria who will be contesting from Puthupally. KPCC Meanwhile is stamping on the huge sympathy factor created by Oommen Chandy’s death. If going by this trend, congress believes it will be a cakewalk for Chandy Oommen.