Ettumanoor: A low-profile assembly constituency in Kottayam district is set to garner attention until the state poll results are out on May 2 as the former Mahila Congress chief Lathika Subhash has announced her candidacy from the Ettumanoor seat as an independent.
A day after she resigned as Mahila Congress chief and tonsured her head in protest following denial of ticket, 56-year-old Lathika, an AICC member, said she had sent in her resignation letter to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran.
She later took out a procession at Ettumanoor. Lathika also said she was not given the option of choosing any other seat as was being claimed by senior leaders now.
In the letter to Gandhi, Lathika said: "Congress had miserably failed to understand the feeling of Mahila Congress and its workers. As a woman, I feel this is a planned neglect against us."
"None of the Mahila Congress representatives had got the ticket to contest in the election," she said.
The BDJS nominee from Ettumanoor has withdrawn from the fray after BJP supporters and leaders felt slighted with the candidate choice.
BJP leadership was aghast that a candidate they have never heard of have been selected to contest. In protest the local BJP leaders had earlier decided to keep off from the campaigning.
Lathika's candidature may pose problems to the United Democratic Front (UDF) candidate Prince Lukose of the Kerala Congress (Joseph) in the April 6 Kerala polls.
On Monday Lathika quit the primary membership of the Congress, upset over the party leadership denying her a constituency to contest.
The likely beneficiary of Lathika's entry may help the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate V N Vasavan of the CPM to sail through.
On Sunday evening a disillusioned Lathika had tonsured her head before the state headquarters of the Congress as it became evident that she has not been selected as a party candidate for the April 6 state election. Her emotional, angry response even hit the headlines nationwide and embarrassed the party which had issued a refreshing candidate list a little time before her protest.
She also resigned as the president of the Mahila Congress, women's outfit of the party.
Congress leaders sympathised with her, but stood their ground about their candidate choices, but a few demanded disciplinary action.
Senior party leaders, including Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala, have said Lathika had been adamant about being allocated Ettumanoor and did not provide other options to the party.
Chandy on Monday said there was no possibility of any discussions with Lathika at this juncture.
She cannot escape responsibility as she should have shown flexibility to allow the party to select the constituency.
"She gave the alternative option only after all the decisions were made in Delhi.By then everything was decided. It was unfortunate," Chandy said.
UDF convener M M Hassan hit out at Lathika, saying anyone can protest and she had the right to do so. But the manner and the place she chose crossed all limits. The protest in front of the party office was not right, he told reporters.
Khadi Board vice chairperson Shobana George, who had quit Congress and campaigned for the LDF in the 2018 assembly bypoll, visited Lathika and expressed solidarity with her and said her tonsured head will haunt Kerala politics forever.
The Congress, which announced its candidates for 86 seats out of the 92 it is contesting, has fielded nine women candidates.
