The Congress party in Kerala is likely to announce the list of candidates for the Lok Sabha 2019 elections on Saturday. Congress, which is one the major parties in the United Democratic Front (UDF), will be contesting 16 out of the total 20 constituencies for the Lok Sabha polls in Kerala.
According to media reports, the screening committee for finalising the candidates met in New Delhi on Friday but there was still some confusion regarding the candidates for a few seats.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, Mullappally Ramachandran, according to a report by Times of India (ToI), said that he is hopeful of releasing the candidate list on Saturday after Congress President Rahul Gandhi, president of the INC returns to the party headquarters after the campaign tour.
Also, speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Ramesh Chennithala, who is the opposition leader in Kerala, emphasised that there was no confusion and that the list will surely be published on Saturday. The report also states that leaders from Kerala had held consultations with senior leader AK Antony on the possible names before the meeting.
As per a report by The Hindu, the main confusion was regarding the constituencies of Vadakara and Alappuzha – where senior leaders such as Mullappally Ramachandran and All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary, KC Venugopal, showed a reluctance to contest from.
The party is also reported to have kept the Pathanamthitta seat open for the former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to contest from till a decision is taken by the high command. As per The Hindu, sources said that Oommen Chandy was not interested to contest but they are hoping that the high command will be able to persuade him.
As per reports, Shanimol Usman and Adoor Prakash are being considered for the Alappuzha seat while Hibi Eden and KV Thomas is being considered to contest from Ernakulam and Shafi Parambil is being considered to contest from Palakkad.