Chengannur bypoll: Rahul Gandhi's translator may be Congress candidate

Thiruvananthapuram: Though the candidate for the Chengannur by-election was not on the agenda of the KPCC Political Affairs Committee meeting on Thursday, unofficial talks are on. Currently, D. Vijayakumar or his 37-year-old daughter Jyothi Vijayakumar, famed as a translator of speeches of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, are favourites. Prominent ‘I’ group leader and former Mavelikara MLA M. Murali and Alappuzha DCC general secretary Eby Kuriakose were earlier in the race. But senior leader Oommen Chandy prefers the father or daughter. The leaders felt a “winnable” candidate should be in the fray.

The Congress is expected to announce the name in a day or two. Former KPCC president V. M. Sudheeran, AICC in-charge P. C. Chacko, K. V. Thomas MP, K. Muraleedharan MLA and the lone woman member Shanimol Usman lamented the PAC was becoming “ineffective”. Mr Sudheeran and Mr Chacko said they were not interested in continuing as AICC members as the list approved on Thursday evening was without proper consultations here. "The PAC has now lost its relevance. Hence these two leaders informed the meeting that they do not wish to be as AICC members,” said a PAC member. Other senior leaders said merit was given the go-by in the party revamping and groups shared spoils.

PAC meeting rubbished K. Sudhakaran's words that Gandhian style of functioning cannot bring the youth to the Congress. The meeting unitedly held Mr Sudhakaran’s indefinite fast which went on for eight days before Kannur Collectorate demanding CBI probe on the murder of Youth Congress worker S. P. Shuhaib attained success just because it's Gandhian satyagraha.