Dynasty Watch

The sons of two former chief ministers of the state are in the reckoning in Kerala for the Lok Sabha elections this time. But while veter...

The sons of two former chief ministers of the state are in the reckoning in Kerala for the Lok Sabha elections this time. But while veteran Congress leader K. Karunakaran ensured his son K. Muraleedharan8217;s candidature from Kozhikode, the only support E.M. Sreedharan, son of the late E.M.S. Namboodiripad, had were his own credentials.

However, both the sons are facing tough contests. Sreedharan is taking on Karunakaran himself in Mukundapuram perhaps by sheer coincidence, as the former chief minister shifted there from Thiruvananthapuram this time.

Muraleedharan too was perhaps looking forward to an easy ride in the Muslim heartland of Kozhikode till the surprise entry of former Union civil aviation minister C.M. Ibrahim as an LDF candidate.

Muraleedharan or Murali has won the Kozhikode Lok Sabha seat twice, in 1989 and 1991, but also suffered two losses there, in 1996 and 1998. This is a do-or-die battle for him. Karunakaran too hasn8217;t had an easy time lately, having lost in Thrissur in the 1996elections. However, in the polls that followed, he had bounced back, defeating his CPI rival in Thiruvananthapuram.

A chartered accountant by profession, Sreedharan began his political career in 1991 with a dud in an Assembly contest in Sreekrishnapuram. Unlike Murali who rose fast on his father8217;s name, Sreedharan has had to go through the drill in the CPIM, though the Namboodiripad tag was an advantage. A member of the party state committee and a leading light of the People8217;s Campaign for Planning, he quit his membership of the Planning Board to contest the elections.

Now, he is pitted against a virtual Chanakaya in Mukundapuram. Karunakaran had nursed the constituency even when he had no explicit electoral ambitions there. The Nedumbasserry airport, the country8217;s first joint venture, was his brainchild and it is in Mukundapuram. The constituency also has a predominant Catholic population, which has traditionally been Congress-minded. The party, in fact, has never lost the seat.

To Sreedharan8217;scredit, his late father did little to promote his political career. Unlike in Murali8217;s case. Karunakaran may protest but he has actively pushed his son from the start. According to Congress circles, the senior leader had other plans for Murali this time. He reportedly wanted to groom him for the Assembly elections two years away. It was Murali who announced his desire to contest from Kozhikode even before the father could broach this with the sitting MP and his acolyte, Sankaran. Rather than be a minister in Kerala two years later, Murali obviously prefers the rough and tumble of Delhi politics. Particularly with a doting father on the side.