Many political heirs eye debut in Kerala Assembly polls this time too

Thiruvananthapuram: As the candidate selection talks for the Kerala Assembly polls are gaining steam in all the parties, the state could witness more 'son rises'.

Former chief minister V S Achuthanandan's son V A Arunkumar, ex Chief Minister Oommen Chandy's daughters -- Maria Oommen and Achu Oommen -- RSP leader N K Premachandran MP's son Karthik Premachandran, Kerala Congress (Joseph) chairman P J Joseph's son Apu John Joseph, and PC George's son Shone George. Thus goes the names of possible candidates who could make their debut in the Assembly elections this time.

Karthik Premachandran's name is being actively considered by the party at Eravipuram in Kollam district, even as many seniors and veterans are strongly opposing it. Eravipuram was a stronghold of RSP earlier. But in 2016 and 2021 the party lost the seat to CPI(M). 

Karthik, who is now working as assistant professor at the TKM College of Engineering in Kollam, could possibly cash in on the reputation of his father, who is a five-time Lok Sabha MP, a former Rajya Sabha member and former minister in Kerala.

Apu John Joseph, who is the son of former minister and MLA P J Joseph,  was reportedly being considered as a possible candidate at Thodupuzha in Idukki, if his father is willing to spare his sitting seat. Joseph is the chairman of regional party Kerala Congress (Joseph) and Appu is its state chief co-ordinator. He is an engineer by profession and worked for around 20 years within India and abroad.

Already there were reports that the CPI(M) was considering V S Achuthanandan's son V A Arunkumar as a candidate to cash-in on the profile of his legendary father who died in last July.

Arunkumar, who has been serving as the director of the Institute of Human Resources Development, an agency under the state government, is not yet active in politics.

While former chief minister Oommen Chandy's son Chandy Oommen already succeeded his father as Congress MLA of Puthupally in Kottayam, now the Congress party was learnt to be weighing the options of fielding his daughters -- Maria Oommen or Achu Oommen.

It is learnt that the surveys conducted by AICC had even found Maria as a prospective candidate at a couple of seats in central Kerala. Some social media posts hailing her had also appeared. 

But Chandy Oommen recently made a statement that there would be only one member from the family in active politics.

BJP leader Shone George, who is most likely to contest the polls, is the son of ex MLA P C George, who was also former leader of regional party Kerala Congress. The father and son later shifted to BJP. 

Repeaters too likely to be in the fray

Many other children of known politicians, who already made the electoral debut unsuccessfully, are also likely to be in the fray again.

It includes former Chief Minister and Congress leader K Karunakaran's daughter Padmaja Venugopal, who switched to the BJP in 2024, and former minister M V Raghavan's son Nikesh Kumar, who is a journalist-turned politician.

Already there are a host of politicians in Kerala who made parachute entry to electoral politics by banking on the legacy of their parents.