The Congress party has been holding a series of meetings to prepare for assembly elections in multiple states. During screening for candidates, it has come to light that several Congress MPs from Kerala are interested in contesting the state election, sources.
The Congress is focusing on two states where they see some chance - Kerala and Assam.
The party believes it can fight the elections solo in these two states. Although the Congress is in an alliance in the southern state, it is in the leading role. In Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, it's the DMK, and in West Bengal it has not revealed its cards yet.
Congress MP and Assam screening committee chief Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is in Guwahati at the moment, meeting prospective candidates, while the Kerala screening committee headed by Madhusudan Mistry is meeting possible candidates in Delhi.
The Kerala committee has met thrice so far, sources said. The UDF has 18 out of 20 MPs from Kerala, of which 14 are from the Congress, including Priyanka Gandhi.
The most significant development from these screening committee meetings was that several MPs expressed their intention to contest the assembly election in Kerala, and sought permission from the party.
K Suresh, an eight-time Congress MP from Kerala and the Congress chief whip in the Lok Sabha, wants to contest too. Suresh had hoped that if a proposal for the post of deputy speaker of the Lok Sabha were to come up, his candidacy as an eight-term MP would be a strong suitor.
Traditionally, the post of Deputy Speaker in the Lok Sabha goes to the Opposition, but there has been no sign of this yet. The same is true for Sudhakaran, one of the most prominent backward caste leaders in the Congress in Kerala. Sudhakaran, too, wants to contest the assembly election.
Many MPs believe a Congress government is likely to be formed in Kerala, and if he fights the assembly election, he will automatically become a contender for a ministerial position.
A big name among the MPs is KC Venugopal, the Congress's national organisation minister and a close aide of Rahul Gandhi. However, no information has been released yet on whether he intends to contest.
If Venugopal jumps into the fray, he will be considered a direct contender for the post of chief minister. The same can also apply to Shashi Tharoor.
Whatever decision the party would take depends on what the Congress leadership says.
Traditionally, the BJP has made its MPs contest assembly elections; the reasoning behind this is that it creates a good atmosphere during elections.
Suresh told reporters that whatever decision the Congress high command takes on MPs contesting assembly elections will be accepted by all the MPs who are interested in fighting the state polls.
