Congress announces first list of 55 candidates for Kerala polls

The Congress on Tuesday announced its first list of 55 candidates for the Kerala Assembly polls, fielding senior party leader Ramesh Chennithala from the Haripad seat. The party has also fielded its state unit chief, Sunny Joseph, from the Peravoor seat and Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, VD Satheesan, from Paravur.

According to the Congress’s list, former chief minister Oommen Chandy’s son Chandy Oommen will contest from Puthupally, while former Lok Sabha MP Ramya Haridas will be in the fray from the Chirayinkeezhu-SC constituency.

The party has also named former Lok Sabha MP K Muraleedharan, son of former chief minister K Karunakaran, as its candidate from the Vattiyoorkavu seat. The names of candidates were decided at a meeting of the Congress’s central election committee headed by party president Mallikarjun Kharge earlier in the day. The Congress is seeking to wrest back power from the LDF alliance, which has been ruling the southern state for the last decade.

The elections to the 140-member Kerala Assembly will be held in a single phase on April 9, while the counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.