Kottayam LS seat: Thomas Chazhikadan to fight for LDF, BJP may field Anil Antony

Kottayam: As the hustle and bustle of parliamentary elections begin to emerge with the Lok Sabha polls expected in another few months, the three fronts in Kerala have started moving their pieces on the board to stage a tough fight in the key Kottayam constituency.

Though the Congress-led UDF (United Democratic Front) is yet to decide on its candidate, the Kerala Congress leadership has already started the graffiti writing without mentioning the name of the candidate and leaving out the symbol.

In Kottayam, where the Kerala Congress (M) from the LDF (Left Democratic Front) and the Kerala Congress from UDF are coming face-to-face, the BJP is trying to throw in a surprise candidate. There is no suspense in the LDF camp, though as sitting MP Thomas Chazhikadan will be its candidate.

However, the UDF leadership is facing a headache as many leaders in the Kerala Congress have come forward to stake a claim to the seat. Opposition leader V D Satheesan and KPCC president K Sudhakaran are holding talks with Kerala Congress leaders P J Joseph and Mons Joseph today.

Although the Congress leadership wanted Mons Joseph as the candidate, Mons does not want to contest the parliamentary elections. With this, the discussions veered around former Idukki former MP Francis George.

Earlier, the Kerala Congress leadership had discussed the names of Mons and Francis George. Francis George currently gets the weight from the party leadership. Prince Lukose's name is also doing the rounds.

Meanwhile, Kerala Congress district president Saji Manjakadambil came forward to stake a claim for the seat. The names of K M Mani's son-in-law, M P Joseph and Kerala Congress working chairman P C Thomas are also in the reckoning.

The BJP leadership is actively considering Anil Antony's name for the Kottayam parliamentary seat. The names of other leaders from the district have also been included in the list.