Thiruvananthapuram: As the race for Congress presidential election intensifies, moves are afoot in Kerala to sway and monitor voters.

Shashi Tharoor has contacted most of the voters over the phone. Mallikarjun Kharge has also started making phone calls to voters, who are PCC members. But Kharge is unlikely to come to Kerala for campaigning. However, it is clear that most of the leaders in Kerala back Kharge. Leaders including Oommen Chandy, Ramesh Chennithala, V D Satheesan, M M Hassan and K Muraleedharan have shown their preference for Kharge. However, KPCC president K Sudhakaran has not ruled out Tharoor or Kharge.

The clamour for Tharoor is strong within Congress and outside as well. But it cannot be said that this would sway voters. As majority of the leaders back Kharge, party circles reject the possibility of voters defying them and supporting Tharoor. But as it is a secret ballot, there is also the tantalising possibility that many could vote for Tharoor.

It is in this context that leaders and their representatives are monitoring the voters. Those from the leadership camp reportedly contacted the eight local leaders in Kozhikode, who had signed the nomination papers of Tharoor, and conveyed their displeasure. They also allegedly asked the local leaders not to vote for Tharoor.

At the same time, the Tharoor camp is looking to capitalise on those who endorsed him and garner more votes from Kozhikode.

The 310 members of the KPCC general body constitute the voters from Kerala. Three members have passed away. As Shanimol Usman is the returning officer in Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Johnson Abraham is the assistant returning officer in Karnataka, they will not have a vote in Kerala. The polling booth for the remaining is at Indira Bhavan. As a PCC member from Kerala, Tharoor's vote is also here.

The voters' list, handed over to the candidates by the central election authority, does not have the details of 40-odd people from Kerala. The KPCC has informed the candidates that it is willing to hand over the address and phone numbers of all voters.