Someone had to pay the price in the ongoing tussle between Kerala CM Oommen Chandy and Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president VM Sudheeran. And the scapegoat just happened to be Thrikkakara sitting MLA Benny Behanan.
Chandy had insisted that all five names which he proposed –that of ministers K Babu, Adoor Prakash and KC Joseph and sitting MLAs Dominic Presentation and Benny Behanan- be included in the list of Congress candidates for the upcoming assembly elections to be held on May 16.
Sudheeran however had strongly opposed the inclusion of tainted candidates and those who had contested elections more than four times. He had also suggested the name of PT Thomas who was earlier denied a Lok Sabha seat in the wake of the Kasturi Rangan report and the subsequent trouble in the Idukki diocese.
Behanan had on Monday itself informed the media that he was withdrawing from contention to avoid trouble from brewing within the party, leaving Ernakulam stting MLA Hibi Eden in tears post the press conference.
When the Congress list was finally released on Monday, PT Thomas was the candidate from Thrikkakara constituency with Behanan paying the price for his reported closeness to the CM.