By IANS,
New Delhi: The Congress Election Committee (CEC), which met here for the second consecutive day Tuesday to discuss the candidates for the 81 seats it will contest in the Kerala assembly polls, would most likely allot half the seats to newcomers, youth and women, sources said.
“All state leaders have agreed that (party general secretary) Rahul Gandhi’s suggestion of a transition to a new generation of leaders should ne reflected in the list,” a party source told IANS.
The party has already cleared the names of top leaders belonging to various regions and factions, including opposition leader Oommen Chandy and state unit president Ramesh Chennithala, sources said.
K. Muraleedharan, son of veteran leader K. Karunakaran, is also likely to be in the list, which is to be officially released late Tuesday or Wednesday.
The CEC, presided by party chief Sonia Gandhi, is being attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister Pranab Mukjherjee, Defence Minister A.K. Antony and senior leaders like Mohsina Kidwai, Oscar Fernades and in-charge of Kerala unit Madhusudan Mistry.
Chandy will contest from his traditional Puthuppally seat in Kottayam district, while Chennithala will seek mandate from his home constituency of Harippad in Alappuzha district for the April 13 polls, sources said.
Muraleedharan is likely to be fielded from Vattiyurkavu in Thiruvananthapuram city while former president of National Students Union of India (NSUI), Hiby Eden, will be fielded from Kochi.