Rahul Gandhi unhappy with Kerala Congress ticket distribution: Report
What's the story
The Congress party has announced candidates for 92 seats in the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections. However, the process wasn't without its hiccups. According to India Today, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, was unhappy with how candidates were chosen. He wanted a more systematic approach during the Congress Central Election Committee (CEC) meeting, considering caste equations, winnability, and electoral track records instead of just names proposed by the Kerala Congress unit.
Meeting details
No sitting MP will be fielded in Assembly elections
The CEC meeting, which started at 10:30pm and ended at 2:30am, was attended by Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, and other senior leaders. During this marathon session, they reviewed candidates in detail and decided that no sitting MP would be fielded in the Assembly elections. This decision underscores the importance the party is giving to these polls.
Candidate distribution
Around 60% of candidates from Venugopal's camp
Reportedly, around 60% of the candidates are from Lok Sabha MP KC Venugopal's camp. The first list had 55 candidates, of which 17 were from Venugopal's group, nine from Ramesh Chennithala's group, and five from VD Satheeshan's group. The Congress is expected to contest around 95 out of 140 seats with its allies and has retained 19 out of 22 sitting MLAs.
Demographic focus
Ticket distribution based on caste and demographics
The party has given a majority of tickets to Christians (22), Nairs (21), and Ezhavas (20). Muslims have been given 12 tickets while Brahmins received three. Keeping the age bar lower, 52 of the announced candidates are below 50 years old. Despite these efforts, there are still concerns about women's representation, with only nine out of 92 seats allotted to women candidates.
Unresolved issues
Internal discontent remains within the party
Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed has raised concerns over the lack of female representation in ticket distribution. She tagged Gandhi on X, asking him to step in and fix what she called the party's indifference toward women in Kerala. Despite extensive efforts, internal discontent remains within the party as some MPs expressed interest in contesting but were denied tickets to avoid confusion over chief ministerial candidates and to avoid multiple Lok Sabha bypolls.
Twitter Post
Shama Mohamed's post tagging Rahul Gandhi
Denied but not defeated . I respectfully urge my leader @rahulgandhi ji who I adore , respect & Admire to help the congress women of kerala . Out of the 92 tickets , only 9 tickets were given to women . In Lok
— Dr. Shama Mohamed (@drshamamohd) March 20, 2026
Sabha of 24, only 1 woman was given out of the 16 tickets distributed.…