Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 2 Veteran Kerala Congress legislator P.J. Joseph might nominated to the Rajya Sabha and in lieu, the Congress, which leads the United Democratic Front (UDF), will take the Kottayam Lok Sabha seat, which would have gone to his party.
Joseph, 82, is the Chairman of the Kerala Congress and is the sitting legislator from Thodupuzha, a seat that he has won 10 times from 1970.
Over the years, Joseph and his party have been a part of both the Left Front and the UDF and he has been a minister on quite a few occasions.
For long, Joseph was wanting a stint in the Parliament and contested the Lok Sabha polls twice - but unsuccessfully. Hence, he is making one last attempt now.
Three seats to the Rajya Sabha will fall vacant from Kerala in June. It is certain that CPI-M led Left Front will win two seats while the Congress-led UDF can get one seat.
However, any such deal is not definite, say sources.
"If, by any chance, there is a barter of seats with the Kerala Congress, the Congress might have doubts if their candidate at the Kottayam Lok Sabha seat will get the support of Joseph’s party, which is very essential for their candidate. Congress will have to fight hard to allow Joseph a Rajya Sabha seat," a source said.
It will be known very soon if Joseph’s wish will come true, as the Congress party finished one round of talks with its allies and the seat sharing to the 20 Lok Sabha seats will be finalised shortly.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress contested 16 seats, and UDF members the remaining four - the IUML 2 and the RSP and the Kerala Congress one each. The UDF won 19 and the ruling CPI-M just one seat.
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