Thiruvananthapuram: Many Youth Congress leaders feel that the AICC survey will hardly help them during the selection of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections. Their fate depends on how the KPCC leadership will present their case before the AICC.
Reports saying that all the sitting Congress MPs in the state will be fielded again in the elections have created a stir among the Youth Congress leaders.
They feel that unlike earlier occasions when the KPCC and AICC zeroed in on the young brigade for the Lok Sabha elections, most of them will be chucked out at the eleventh hour this time.
The Congress and the CPM have fielded youngsters in both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections over the years and there have been upsets as well.
“Ramachandran Kadannapally of Congress defeated E.K.Nayanar at the age of 26 in Kasargod in 1971. Another youngster who came up trumps at the age of 28 was CPM’s Suresh Kurup from Kottayam in 1984. Now, we fear the KPCC may not show the guts to field many talented Youth Congress leaders,” said a YC leader.
Some of the young Congress leaders who won in the 2009 Assembly elections in spite of unfavourable surveys include Shafi Parambil (Palakkad), V. T. Balram (Thrithala), Anvar Sadath (Aluva), I. C. Balakrishnan (Sulthanbathery), P. K. Jayalakshmy (Mananthawadi). Hibi Eden won from Ernakulam as expected.
But former Youth Congress leaders who have not found a space in the KPCC or in the KPCC executive list feel that some of them had lost to more powerful opponents though surveys had favoured them.
“V. K. Sreekandan (Ottapalam), K. P. Anilkumar (Sreekrishnapuram and Koyilandy in two subsequent elections), M. Liju (Ambalapuzha), Bindu Krishna (Chathanoor), Jossy Sebastian (Udumbanchola) and P. Jermiyas (Kundara) have lost the elections with Liju and Bindu Krishna being defeated in the home districts,” said another peeved Youth Congress leader.
