Kannur: Although an MLA of 40 years moved out of the fray, arguments over Irikkur seat continued unabated. Congress’s Central Election Committee meeting witnessed heated arguments over Irikkur seat. The clash began as AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal’s insisted Sajeev Joseph as Irikkur candidate while the seat traditionally fell in “A” group domain. Oomen Chandy argued that the seat won by KC Thomas rightfully belongs to “A” group and that Sony Sebastin should represent the constituency.
Venugopal countered that plan by upholding High Command’s Survey Report. Sajeev Joseph has higher probability of winning the seat, said Venugopal and the the argument found support from AICC General Secretary Tariqh Arif too. Irritated, Oomen Chandy demanded to show the survey report. The matter hit roadblock, when Venugopal refused to table the Survey Report, a move supported by Tariq.
The Survey Report puts Irikkur and Peravoor as sure-shot wins or the so-called “A” category seats. According to the Report, DCC president Satheeshan Pancheni fixed up the other “A” category seat of Kannur, Incidentally, K Sudhakaran had tried to field Rijil Makketti from Kannur. Kalliyassery and Thaliparambu are marked as “B” category with likelihood for victory though competition could be tough. Dharmadam and Payyannur are classified as “C” category, namely one with very low chance of winning over. Thallssery is considered winnable and classified as “C Plus” seat. Meanwhile, there is growing criticism that majority of Congress seats are contested by candidates belonging to the minority segment.
