Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress faces the problem of plenty as far as hopefuls are concerned for the by-election in Ernakulam, which was represented by Hibi Eden who has won the Lok Sabaha polls.
Deputy mayor and Ernakulam DCC president T.J. Vinod of the ‘I’ group is the front-runner. The other aspirants include Tony Chammany of ‘A’ group and KPCC vice-president Laly Vincent.
Thivelikkakathu Joseph Vinod, 53, is five-time councillor in the Kochi corporation and belongs to Thammanam. He has been DCC president for the last three years and managed Hibi Eden’s campaign. Hibi told DC that a lot of work remained to be done in the aftermath of the floods and that the by-election was therefore crucial.
Vinod said the party will decide the candidate. “I have been holding the posts of DCC president and deputy mayor,” Vinod told DC.
If he is chosen as the candidate, the posts of deputy mayor and DCC president will fall vacant. Palakkad and Thrissur DCC presidents’ posts would also become vacant with the election of V.K. Sreekandan and T.N. Prathapan to the Lok Sabha.
Mr Chammany was a former mayor of Kochi corporation and currently does not hold any party posts. The ‘A’ group is keen on giving him a suitable post. Laly Vincent was in charge of the Congress campaigns in Idukki and Wayanad Lok Sabha seats. After she was defeated in Alappuzha Assembly seat in 2016 by CPM’s Dr T.M. Thomas Isaac, she had been concentrating on her practice in the Kerala High Court. A final call on her will be taken by Chennithala.
Ernakulam will see a by-election for the third time. Congress candidate Dominic Presentation won in 2009 and Left independent Sebastian Paul in 1998.
The seat, dominated by the Latin Catholic community, has been a stronghold of the Congress since 1957.
