Kottayam: Facing the Modi juggernaut and a well-oiled poll machinery of the BJP at the national level, the Congress cannot afford to lose any potential winnable seat in the Lok Sabha polls due next year. The party is leaving no stone unturned while picking the right candidate for the crucial polls and Kerala, being a traditional stronghold of the party, is absolutely in the focus.
The party has already started a three-level survey to zero in on winnable candidates. Only those who get featured at least in two of the three survey results are likely to be fielded in the polls, top sources in the party told Onmanorama.
The sources said unlike in the past, the state leadership of the party will not have absolute control over candidate selection this time.
The initial round of surveys has found that a few seats where the party won in 2014 are not safe this time, whereas some constituencies where it lost last time could be wrested. This means some of the sitting MPs may find it tough to get a chance in 2019. There could be more new faces as well.
“After Rahul Gandhi took over the charge of party affairs, there's a clear-cut instruction that each seat is crucial in the coming Lok Sabha polls. It has been advised that winnability should be the only criterion,” sources said. “The party also needs to improve its performance in Parliament. Hence, only people with the capability to do that will be selected,” party sources added.
About the survey, a Congress leader said it is being carried out by three different private agencies at varied time period. The result of one of them is already out and the central leadership has shared some findings with the state leadership.
Another source in Kottayam confirmed that the surveys are on and they are highly confidential. Factors such as a probable candidate's popularity, media presence, oratory skills etc will be counted,” he said.
Beyond party lines
This time, the party is likely to move away from its traditional choices and field people who are not typical political activists. “Public acceptability is a big factor. Hence, some unexpected names are most likely in the list,” sources said. Asked if there will be some celebrities in the list, sources said it is likely. Fielding people from outside political arena is a model which was successful for the CPM in Kerala in the past.
Party sources said there could be some prominent OBC, mainly ezhava, names in the list.