Puthuppally bypolls: Will Congress field Chandy Oommen?

Following the demise of veteran Congress leader Oommen Chandy, the Puthuppally constituency has fell vacant and a by-election is likely to be held within six months. 

Kottayam: After former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy passed away, the Puthuppally constituency became vacant and a by-election is anticipated to be held there in the next six months. In the interim, CPM has conducted discussions about the by-election preparations. 

Due to Oommen Chandy's 53 years of representation in Puthuppally, it is quite likely that the UDF will choose a member of his family to succeed him. Within Congress, there won't be any disagreements about riding the compassion wave. Additionally, Chandy Oommen, Chandy's son, is most likely to become a candidate. Chandy Oommen was there throughout Chandy's mourning procession from Thiruvananthapuram to Puthuppally. 

Several Congress leaders believe that Rahul Gandhi's visit to Puthuppally to pay tribute to Chandy has political significance. 

Achu Oommen, Chandy's daughter, is also preferred by the leaders of the "A" group because of her ties to the Puthuppally branch of the party's grassroots workers. 

The LDF currently controls six of the constituency's eight panchayats, which presents a significant challenge for the UDF. Sources claim that CPM will likely give young leader Jaick C Thomas one more chance. Jaick, who competed twice against Chandy, reduced Chandy's margin of victory from 27,092 in 2016 to 9,044 in 2021. The LDF believes that Jaick, who performed admirably against Chandy, can seize the constituency from the UDF in Chandy's absence.

As soon as the state assembly office published the notification on the vacancy in the constituency, the CPM state secretariat urged the Kottayam district leadership to begin making preparations.