Communists field another Christian in Kerala
The Kerala-based SMC is politically influential in the state.
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This makes the Communists' candidate list having a record number of five independents, at least four of them Christians.The Idukki candidate was announced yesterday.
Congress has decided to deny PT Thomas, the sitting MP from Idukki, a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections slated for April 10.
Another prominent Congress MP, PC Chacko, has moved his constituency from Thrissur to Chalakkudi following opposition from a faction in the Congress and also SMC's Thrissur diocese.
Thomas and Chacko would have faced a tough contest if they had contested from Idukki and Thrissur although they are traditional Congress citadels.
The Kerala-based SMC is politically influential in the state.
Though Chalakkudi is a Congress bastion, the contest this time would not be easy here for Chacko since his opponent is Innocent, a popular film actor whom the LDF has fielded as an independent.
The farmers' agitation is led by the church leadrs and its Idukki diocese's Bishop Mar Mathew Anikkuzhikkattil had demanded that Thomas should not be fielded. This led to a war of words between Thomas and the bishop.
"I challenge the bishop to defeat me," Thomas had said.
The bishop threatened the agitators would even field an independent candidate of their own if Thomas was fielded.
After he was dropped, Thomas lamented: "Some priests bayed for my blood and herded the flock to the Communist camp".
CM Oommen Chandy has promised Thomas to be made an AICC secretary.
Thomas was the only major leader from the Congress who held that the agitation was unwarranted as the report should be implemented for the protection of the environment and did not have anything harmful for the farmers.
Unlike Thomas, neither his party nor the ruling UDF dared to oppose the agitation fearing a backlash from its traditional allies, the farmer community and the church.
Source: India Today
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