Thiruvananthapuram: In a surprise twist to the ruling Congress party’s efforts to find a candidate for the by-election to the Aruvikkara constituency, former speaker, the late G. Karthikeyan’s son Sabarinath has emerged as the nominee.
Congress party leaders had been persuading Karthikeyan’s widow, M.T. Sulekha to be the candidate in the by-election that was necessitated by her husband’s demise, and a reluctant Sulekha had been spurning the offer.
On Saturday, Sabarinath emerged as the candidate instead of his mother.
The decision is a relief for the Congress-led United Democratic Front, which had been desperate for a good candidate, given the tough odds facing the party in the context of a series of corruption allegations against the government.
The 31-year-old Sabarinath is the younger of Karthikeyan’s two sons, and is an engineer. He had been actively involved in politics from college days. “I know the people of Aruvikkara will support me for their strong bonds with my father. I will be as honest to the voters as my father was and I am sure this constituency will continue to be a UDF constituency”, Sabarinath said, struggling to hold back his emotions.
However, the Kerala Students’ Union, the students’ wing of the Congress party, took objection to Sabarinath’s candidacy. KSU wrote to Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president, V.M. Sudheeran that if Karthikeyan’s widow Sulekha was not contesting, Sudheeran himself should be the candidate.
There are also reports the Youth Congress is also not fully favourable of Sabarinath’s candidacy. The KPCC president, Sudheeran however said that Sabarinath’s candidacy was a unanimous decision.
An irony of Sabarinath’s candidacy is that his father had relentlessly objected to nepotism in politics and criticised the role of K. Muraleedharan, son of former chief minister, K. Karunakaran during the time the latter was the most influential Congress leader in the state.
The Opposition Left Democratic Front had already announced former Speaker, K. Vijayakumar as its candidate. The Bharatiya Janata Party is expected to announce its candidate soon. The Vaikunta Swami Dharma Pracharana (VSDP) party, which comprises mostly of the Nadar community, an influential section in the area, is also expected to field a candidate, making the Aruvikara by-election a four-cornered contest.
