Even as the UDF struggles to untangle its seat sharing knots in Kottayam, the LDF has moved swiftly to seize the initiative and drawn up a preliminary list of its nominees in the district.
In the central Travancore district, where the LDF currently holds five of the nine Assembly seats, the stage is set for an intense contest between the two major fronts as the UDF is counting on a strong comeback, buoyed by its performance in the local body elections. For the CPI(M) led coalition, however, retaining dominance in Kottayam is crucial to its broader strategy of returning to power once again.
Most of the LDF’s incumbent legislators, including Cooperation Minister V. N. Vasavan, are expected to be retained. Yet the spotlight is now on the Congress held seats of Kottayam and Puthuppally. Sources indicate that K. Anil Kumar, a member of the CPI(M) State committee, is almost certain to be fielded from Kottayam.
Puthuppally, however, presents a more delicate political calculation. The initial preference was for Reji Zachariah and K. M. Radhakrishnan. After Reji Zachariah reportedly declined to contest, the name of party area secretary Subhash P. Varghese was added to the shortlist. Both Radhakrishnan and Subhash Varghese would be first time Assembly candidates. In this traditional Congress bastion, now represented by Chandy Oommen, the possibility of backing an independent candidate is also understood to be under discussion.
