Kottayam: Kerala Congress (M) leader and former MLA Thomas Chazhikadan will be the Congress-led UDF candidate for the Kottayam Lok Sabha constituency, KC (M) chairman K M Mani said here Monday.
Mani decided to field his close confidant Chazhikadan from Kottayam, rejecting claims by KC(M) working chairman and former state minister P J Joseph for the lone seat allotted to the party by the UDF.
Joseph, representing Thodupuzha constituency in the Kerala Assembly, had publicly expressed his desire to contest the elections as the UDF candidate from Kottayam.
A series of meetings of the KC (M) leaders were held here to decide the party's candidate but failed to reach a consensus over Josephs candidature as K M Mani and his son Jose K Mani wanted to keep the seat within their fold.
While the supporters of Joseph strongly argued for his candidature, supporters of Mani opposed it, arguing that no sitting MLA should be fielded as the Lok Sabha candidate.
We will unitedly fight and win the Kottayam seat, Chazhikadan told reporters soon after Mani declared him as the UDF candidate.
He claimed that Joseph and his faction would support his candidature.
Chazhikadan also dismissed suggestions that Joseph and his supporters would leave the party.
Joseph said he was disappointed with the decision. He said he would take a call on future course of action after consulting UDF leaders.
Speaking to reporters, Mani said the decision to field Chazhikadan was taken after consulting all leaders including Jospeh. He exuded confidence that Joseph would accept the decision.
The CPI (M) has fielded its district secretary V N Vasavan in Kottayam.
UDF wanted Joseph to contest to ensure victory for the Front in Kottayam. The Front leaders intervened soon after the Kerala Congress district leadership opposed the candidature of Joseph. However, the intervention failed to yield the desired result.
Thomas Chazhikadan, a former bank manager and chartered accountant, was the MLA for the Ettumanoor assembly constituency from 1991 to 2001. He entered the poll fray first time following the death of his younger brother Babu Chazhikkadan. Babu, who was the original candidate from Ettumanoor, died of lighting during election campaign in 1991.
