Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress will set in motion the process to select the candidates for the Lok Sabha elections on Monday. The first meeting of the 26-member KPCC election committee headed by Mr Mullapally Ramachandran here will take a call on the sitting MPs. The final decision will be taken by the Central Election Committee headed by party president Rahul Gandhi.
Most of the senior leaders like A. K. Antony, Oommen Chandy, K. C. Venugopal, P. C. Chacko, Ramesh Chennithala and former KPCC presidents will attend the meeting. It also has ex-officio members, including presidents of feeder organisations--Dean Kuriakose (Youth Congress), K. M. Abhijith (KSU), Lathika Subhash (Mahila Congress) and M. K. Abdul Salam (Minority Congress).
A senior Congress leader told DC that there were not many aspirants for the seats as most sitting Congress MPs will be fielded.
There is a feeling among party leaders that only winnable candidates should be fielded. "The focus has now shifted from the Periya murders and the threat of a war with Pakistan," said the leader. The elections will be fought on real issues facing the people, it is felt.
The sitting Congress MPs are Shashi Tharoor (Thiruvananthapuram), Anto Antony (Pathanamthitta), Kodikunnil Suresh (Mavelikara), K. C. Venugopal (Alappuzha), K. V. Thomas (Ernakulam), M. K. Raghavan (Kozhikode) and Mullapally Ramachandran (Vadakara). It is said that M.M. Hassan may be offered Wayanad which was represented by M. I. Shanavas, who passed away last year. The KPCC will prepare a three-member panel for all the Congress seats before the final list is sent to the CEC for approval.
Venugopal is also a key member of the AICC's screening committee covering all the states.
