Congress Kerala chief’s latest: Spokeswoman who flagged gender imbalance in LS list is ‘a nobody’

Two days back, Mohamed had pointed out that there was only one woman Lok Sabha candidate among the 16 fielded by the Congress in Kerala — Ramya Haridas, a sitting MP from the Alathur seat reserved for Scheduled Castes.

Mohamed said: “There were two women candidates (from Kerala) in the last election. In the first election coming after the Women’s Representation Bill was passed, the number of women candidates has come down to one. Women need better representation. Ramya got the chance because her seat is in the reservation category. Women should be allotted seats where they can win. If we have to get women voters, they should be adequately represented in the candidates list.”

On Mohamed’s observation, Sudhakaran, the MP from Kannur, told reporters Sunday: “She is a nobody in the party. Ask her about her comment (on women’s representation).”

Shama, who also hails from Kannur, Monday added her designation of party spokesperson to her Facebook page in an apparent response to Sudhakaran.

Amid the row set off by Sudhakaran, Satheesan stepped in on Monday. “I have spoken to her. What she said is absolutely correct. We couldn’t give adequate representation for women. We are sad about it. Shama assured me she would not say anything that hurts the party. She will spend more time in Kerala during the elections,” he said.

Two weeks back, at a Congress rally in Thiruvananthapuram, Sudhakaran openly expressed his displeasure over party workers walking out. Sudhakaran listed out the expenses involved in organising the event and said he would not speak if party workers were not interested.

“Why should you come for the event, if you are not ready to hear the leaders,” he asked.

Satheesan, who spoke after Sudhakaran, tried to soothe the sentiments of the cadre. “These are ordinary workers, who have already sat for five hours under the scorching sun. We have a long galaxy of leaders. Twelve of them have already spoken and I am the thirteenth. The president (Sudhakaran) need not feel bad about this. They are all our workers,” he said.

And on February 24, Sudhakaran was caught on a mic letting loose an expletive while asking why Satheesan was late to a joint press conference. Satheesan played down the controversy, saying: “We are like brothers. He has the freedom to say so.”