A 'son' rise behind the scene

Like his father who emerged from the shadows of stalwart A K Antony after 32 years to become the chief minister of the state, Oommen also prides in “transcending” the charm of power politics. So does his elder sister Achu Oommen.

This at a time when the Youth Congress in Kerala aggressively bargained for seats in the Assembly elections and managed to wrest over a dozen tickets for its candidates.  Chandy Oommen, who has been active in student politics for the last 10 years within the state and in Delhi, says contesting elections is not his immediate priority.

“It is not that I am not interested in politics because I grew up watching ‘Appa’ (father). But since he is already there from the family, I thought it would not be proper for me to be angling for seats. Besides, there is a great opportunity for a politician to serve the people without being elected,’’ he said at a stopover of his cultural rally at Panangad in the district.

Oommen is a second semester MA History student at St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and was also president of the college union four years ago when he was doing his graduation there. He has already made his mark in the Youth Congress and the National Students Congress as its president. He was also drafted for the Youth Congress membership drive by party leader Rahul Gandhi in Jharkhand.

Too young to contest

Though he may be a little young to contest elections, his proximity to the powers that be could have easily helped him to jump into the electoral arena. Instead, Oommen is just a party delegate for the Puthupally constituency from where his father is contesting for the 10th time.

Achu Oommen, who was also a student activist for 15 years, also echoes similar sentiments when quizzed about her political ambitions.

“All these 15 years, I had never gone after posts. I have done whatever I could and have felt that there were numerous youths who were talented than I am. So, I stepped back,’’ says Achu.

In the summer of elections, she has come all the way from Dubai, where her husband does business, to join the big fun back home. She has been coordinating the cultural rally led by her brother across the state. The rally involves a skit which lampoons Chief Minister Achuthanandan and his government’s pitfalls, shortcomings and infighting in the Left Democratic Front.