Congress inches closer to finalising candidate list for Assembly polls in Kerala

The Central Election Committee of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) is reportedly poised to examine the initial list of prospective candidates for the Assembly elections in Kerala.

Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan and the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) had set the process in motion by submitting the initial list of “consensus” candidates, several of whom are reportedly incumbent MLAs and high-profile leaders, to the Screening Committee chairperson, Madhusudan Mistry, in Delhi last week.

United face

A Congress insider said “customary machinations” by various KPCC factions to ensure the name of their loyalists on the candidate list appeared relatively muted as the party girds itself for the 2026 Assembly polls. He said the AICC had emphatically ruled against such attempts at branch stacking, given that it could spawn rebels and undermine the KPCC’s imperative to broadcast a united face to the electorate.

Mr. Satheesan told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that protracted and vexatious discussions “extending over two weeks in Delhi” regarding the finalisation of the KPCC candidate list were a thing of the past. “The KPCC will declare its candidates within 24 hours of the announcement of the Assembly polls,” he said.

Mr. Satheesan refused to speculate on the prospective candidates who might fight on the Congress ticket. He stated that the Congress was yet to select a candidate for the Palakkad constituency (after the expulsion of Rahul Mamkootathil, MLA, from the party following accusations of rape and serial sexual misconduct). He said actor Ramesh Pisharady, supposedly proposed by KPCC working president Shafi Parambil, MP, was one among the many names in the running for the Palakkad seat.

Key candidates

According to some KPCC insiders, Congress will field its candidates in at least 60 constituencies. They claimed that there was a growing consensus among leaders around at least 19 prospective candidates. They reportedly included high-profile leaders, notably K. Muraleedharan, KPCC president Sunny Joseph, Mr. Satheesan, Ramesh Chennithala, Thiruvanchoor radhakrishnan and K.C. Joseph, among others.

They said a majority of the sitting Congress MLAs will run the gauntlet at the hustings. “Nevertheless, the party has to take a call on whether it should field new faces in some constituencies, notably Sulthan Bathery, Perumbavoor and possibly Kovalam, among other segments,” he said.

KPCC insiders did not rule out senior leaders opting out of the fight, opening the door for newcomers. They said that the possible swapping of seats with alliance partners, notably the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), for the Thiruvambady, Pattambi, Kalamassery, and Kochi seats will also affect Congress’s final candidate list.