Kerala Congress leaders carry list of probable candidates to Delhi

In the past, selection of candidates hit a road block due to factional feuds, but this time around, if media and internal party reports are to be believed, things appear to be smooth.

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Kerala Congress president VM Sudheeran, UDF convenor PP Thankachen and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala have been authorised to apprise the party high command of the probable candidates.

Kerala sends 20 members to the Lok Sabha and for a long time the pattern of seat sharing in the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has been Congress - 17, Indian Union Muslim League - two and Kerala Congress (Mani) - one.

In the 2009 polls, the Congress won 13 of the 17 seats allocated to it, while the Indian Union Muslim League won from both constituencies and Kerala Congress (Mani) won its seat too.

But this time there is going to be a change as the Congress has already decided to give a seat each to Socialist Janata Democratic (SJD), which joined the UDF ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, and the newest ally Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP).

On Tuesday, the RSP was admitted into the UDF after it parted ways with the CPI-M-led Left Democratic Front. The RSP ended its more than three decades' association after it was not allotted the Kollam Lok Sabha seat by the LDF.

"There is no political opportunism in giving RSP a seat. In politics, it's to act at the appropriate time. Their credentials have been proved while they were very loyal in the LDF. So, there is nothing wrong in us including them as our new ally," said Sudheeran.

As a result of this rejig, the Congress will have to be contend with 15 seats, as the sitting Kollam seat has been given to the RSP and the Palakkad seat to the SJD.

Of the 15, the names that are expected to be cleared by the high command include Minister Shashi Tharoor- Thiruvananthapuram,  K.V.Thomas - Ernakulam, and Mulapally Ramachandran - Vatakara.

The other two ministers - K.C.Venugopal from Alappuzha and Kodikunnil Suresh from Mavelikera - are also on the list and their fate would be decided by the party high command.

Then comes the list of sitting members and those most likely to be renominated include the JPC chairman on the 2G scandal P.C. Chacko.

It remains to be seen if he will contest from Thrissur, from where he is the sitting MP, or move to the adjoining constituency at Chalakudy which is held by the Congress party and represented by K.P.Dhanapalan. There is a likelihood of the two swapping their seats.

K.Sudhakaran who represents the Kannur seat, which is the headquarters of the CPI-M, is also highly likely to get cleared, so is Anto Antony from Pathanamthitta and M.K.Raghavan from Kozhikode.

The list of doubtfuls includes P.T.Thomas from Idukki as he has had to face the wrath of the strong Catholic Church, which has already expressed its displeasure against him to Defence Minister A.K.Antony.

Another Congress MP whose fate hangs in balance is M.I.Shahnawaz from the Wayanad seat. Added to these, the party has to name three candidates to contest from Alathur, Kasargode and Attingal which are currently held by the CPI-M.

The list of hopefuls includes women leaders like Bindu Krishna, Shanimol Usman and K.A. Sheeba besides T. Siddiq and C.K. Sreedharan.

The dark horse in the list is G. Mohan Gopal, lawyer and director of the Congress party's Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Contemporary Studies He is also on the party's election co-ordination committee headed by party vice president Rahul Gandhi.

(Agencies)

Source: Online Current News

Sri Lanka to open honorary consulate in Kerala

Speaking to media, A Jayaprakash, advisor to the honorary counsel Joemon Joseph, said this new beginning will be a boost for business between Kerala and Sri Lanka.

"Tourism is one business that will get a major boost both in Kerala and Sri Lanka as people from both these places do travel up and down. Another important gain would be for the business community as there would be more trade and business activities," Jayaprakash said.

 In the run-up to the official clearing of the consular office of Sri Lanka here, the major point of discussion was on how this new office could help in boosting trade and commerce.

"Coconut is one product that Sri Lanka is doing a lot of value addition to. Here in Kerala, coconut is an important cash crop and there are companies in Sri Lanka which are looking forward for engaging in doing value addition to coconut here," Jayaprakash added.

Currently there are two Sri Lankan consulates functioning in Chennai and Mumbai besides two honorary consulates in Bangalore and Kolkata.

The one in Kolkata is all set to be upgraded to a full-fledged consulate soon. Trade circles in Kerala also appear to be in a buoyant mood as today in Sri Lanka, Chinese companies have made major inroads in all sectors and the industry here is looking to Sri Lanka as a possible new business centre.

(Agencies)

Source: Latest News

Chandy absence at Sudheeran’s assumption of charge stirs row

Chandy, however, rushed to the party headquarters soon after Sudheeran assumed charge in the presence of other leaders, including his immediate predecessor Ramesh Chennithala with the explanation that he was held up in his office with some 'pressing work' which could not be deferred.

    

Talking to reporters, Chandy and Sudheeran sought to put across the message that they would work together in the coming days.

    

However, local media turned it into a hot debate suggesting that it reflected Chandy's resentment at the choice of Sudheeran overlooking his views on the matter.

    

Some Congress leaders also said that Chandy should have made it to the party headquarters at the right time and avoided unnecessary interpretations that his absence created in the media.

    

Bringing an end to over a month-long suspense, Sudheeran was made PCC chief to lead the party in the Lok Sabha polls replacing Ramesh Chennithala, who joined the state cabinet as Home Minister last month.

    

Earlier, Assembly Speaker G Karthikeyan's name made the rounds in the media as a hot favourite for the key-post enjoying the support of both Chandy and Chennithala.

(Agencies)

Source: Breaking News