PJ Kurien may enter RS again, Sonia to take final decision

Congress president Sonia Gandhi will finally decide on who should go to the Rajya Sabha as the party’s nominee from the state.


A meeting of the Congress election committee held here on Tuesday unanimously urged the Congress president to take a decision in this regard, KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala said here after the meeting.


 He told reporters that no names had cropped up in the meet. ‘’All the names doing the rounds were only the creation of the media,’’ he said. The decision of the committee will be conveyed to Sonia Gandhi, he said and added that the final choice would be known before June 15, the last date for filing nominations for the RS seat. ‘’Unlike the Assembly or Lok Sabha seats, it is the Congress high command which proposes the name of the RS candidates,’’ Ramesh said.



It is reliably learnt that the Congress high command had already sounded the name of outgoing MP P J Kurien for another term in the Upper House. The one-liner from the KPCC is apparently in accordance with the wish expressed by the high command. Kurien, who has a proven track record as a chairman panel member of the Upper House, is tipped for the RS Deputy Chairman’s post. ‘’The proposal to leave the matter to the High Command was presented as a resolution by Electricity Minister Aryadan Mohammed. It was seconded by former minister Pandalam Sudhakaran,’’ said the KPCC president.


To a query, he admitted that there were discussions on many facets associated with the nomination, but it could not be divulged.


 Meanwhile, even when no names cropped up at the meet, it is reliably learnt that former Governor and senior Congress leader M M Jacob was highly critical of giving another term for Kurien on the ground that the next vacant seats coming up in the state will also go to either A K Antony or Vayalar Ravi. He warned that the pattern would adversely affect the goodwill of the Congress party in the state, said a top Congress leader who was present at the meet.


Two out of the three vacant RS seats, for which elections are slated shortly, are poised to go the UDF way. One has been earmarked for the constituent Kerala Congress(M), which has already announced the candidature of party state general secretary Joy Abraham. For the remaining sure seat for the LDF, CPM has nominated C P Narayanan, Editor of Chintha magazine. The LDF is also putting up a CPI candidate for another seat, with an announced mission of creating a divide in UDF votes. The tally of UDF-LDF in the Assembly at present is 72-67. The numbers will change after the outcome of the Neyyatinkara bypoll on Friday. The RS polls is slated for June 25.