As three Rajya Sabha seats from Kerala are falling vacant by April, hectic lobbying is on in both the ruling CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front in the state.
While the LDF will get two seats, the UDF will get one. Terms of Congress senior leader A K Antony, CPM's K Somaprasad and M V Shreyams Kumar of Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD) are ending. Antony was learnt to have communicated to the Congress leadership that he shall not be re-nominated. Subsequently, many Congress leaders started eyeing the seat.
Former minister K V Thomas had openly expressed his desire to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha, while Mullappally Ramachandran, who was recently removed from Kerala PCC president post, and UDF convenor M M Hassan were also said to be eyeing the seat. Meanwhile, a demand to nominate comparatively young Congress leaders also came up.
In the LDF, four coalition partners of CPM were learnt to be staking claims. Even as Shreyam's Kumar was staking a claim for the seat being vacated by him, the CPM had conveyed that the LJD could not make such claims. NCP, which is a coalition partner of LDF, is also staking a claim for nominating party state president and former Congress leader P C Chacko. CPI and Janata Dal (S) were also staking claims.
Watch the latest DH Videos here: