New Delhi, March 31
Former minister, five-time Rajya Sabha member and senior AICC leader Pranab Mukherjee will contest the Lok Sabha poll for the first time. His name figured in the list of Lok Sabha candidates released by the Congress today.
The list also included former minister Subodh Kant Sahay,who has been fielded from Ranchi in Jharkhand while former filmstar Moushmi Chatterjee is to contest from Calcutta North East. In addition, veteran party leader K. Karunakaran’s daugther, Padmaja Venugopal, has been nominated for the Mukundapuram seat in Kerala.
After dithering for weeks, Mr Mukherjee has finally decided to take the plunge from Jangipur in West Bengal. Mr Mukherjee is among the few senior Congress leaders who has agreed to contest the Lok Sabha poll this time. Several other Congress Rajya Sabha members, including former finance minister Manmohan Singh, Ambika Soni and Ahmed Patel, opted out of the race.
Although Mr Mukherjee has never been a Lok Sabha member, he has always been an indispensable member of the Congress party’s core team. He is known for his debating skills and knowledge of parliamentary rules besides being a keen political strategist and tough negotiator.
Mr Mukherjee’s decision to try his luck from the Lok Sabha is being seen as a move to give a higher profile to the coming contest. There had been a suggestion in the Congress that its senior leaders should fight the Lok Sabha poll but there were very few takers for this proposal.
The inclusion of Mr Karunakaran’s daughter in the list of Lok Sabha candidates is no surprise. The veteran leader had raised a banner of revolt against Kerala Chief Minister A.K. Antony, resulting in a serious crisis in the state party unit. After several rounds of negotiations, the party bought peace with Mr Karunakaran by agreeing to give him a Rajya Sabha seat and a Lok Sabha ticket to his daughter.
Although the official lists of candidates are trickling in now but there is considerable speculation about the candidature on a number of seats. Party insiders maintained that CWC member and former UPCC chief Salman Khursheed is being suggested for the Ajmer seat. Several senior party leaders are pushing for Mr Khursheed’s nomination on the plea that they needed to field a high-profile Muslim to send out a signal to the minorities in Rajasthan.
While the Congress party’s Central Election Committee (CEC) is now holding daily sittings in an effort to clear as many names as possible, Uttar Pradesh remains a problem state. The Congress has been unable to forge an alliance with the Bahujan Samaj Party while its relations with the Samajwadi Party have hit an all-time low.
Now comes news that its negotiations with the regional outfit Apna Dal have also collapsed.
