The Congress has chaos on its hands every time its leadership sits down to select candidates for elections. The coming Kerala Assembly polls have proved to be no different.Tensions ran high all day Thursday after the party’s Lok Sabha MP and former Kerala chief K Sudhakaran — who is also a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) — insisted on contesting the coming polls, virtually defying the high command’s diktat that sitting MPs would not be in the fray.AdvertisementBy night, the party brought out its second list of 37 candidates, taking the number of candidates announced to 92. It is contesting that many seats out of the total 140, as part of the seat-sharing pact with its United Democratic Front (UDF) allies. The alliance will support CPI(M) rebels in Payyannur, Ambalapuzha, Taliparamba, and Ottapalam. Although K Sudhakaran and fellow MP Adoor Prakash, the UDF convener, intensely lobbied for a ticket, the leadership held firm and denied them. The party fielded former Mayor T O Mohanan in Kannur, while in Konni, where Prakash wanted to be fielded, it handpicked Prof Satheesh Kochuparambil.The Congress high command had made it clear several weeks ago that sitting MPs will not be fielded. But Sudhakaran, a popular figure among party workers, held out hope that the party would make an exception for him. He landed in Delhi with that hope a couple of days ago. But as it became clear that his desire would not be fulfilled, he is learnt to have thrown a fit.A Congress strongman known for his aggressive politics to counter the CPI(M) in Kannur — a violent political arena that has seen bloody clashes over decades between the cadres of the two parties — Sudhakaran, despite the leadership’s stand, maintained that MPs had the right to contest Assembly polls and his decision reflected the sentiments of party workers.AdvertisementWhile Sudhakaran was closeted in his MP accommodation in New Delhi all day, those close to him, to pressure the party leadership, spread the word that he might contest as an Independent. An alarmed state Congress leadership then stepped in to placate him.From A K Antony to Ramesh Chennithala, many veterans spoke to Sudhakaran. “I asked him not to create a situation leading to the third term of the CPI(M) government. He is the leader who fought against the CPI(M) in Kannur. I wanted him to go by the party decision,’’ said Antony, a former CM and Defence Minister.Till late evening, the Sudhakaran camp insisted that he might explore the option of contesting as an Independent from Kannur. Sources said Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge spoke to Sudhakaran over the phone in the evening and advised him against making a decision in a hurry. With Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi not ready to make any concession, the senior leader finally relented and agreed to toe the party line. It is not clear, however, if Kharge had made him another offer.The Congress, which is facing a crisis in Assam, heaved a sigh of relief. Before leaving for Kerala, Sudhakaran told reporters that he would continue in the party. ‘The party is so big. I am so small. I am not the one to challenge the party. I have decided to remain subservient to the party,” he said.Who’s in, who’s outyou may likeAmong the sitting legislators, only Eldose Kunnappillil, who has represented Perumbavoor for the last two terms, was left out. He has been replaced by Ernakulam district panchayat president Manoj Moothedan. While Eldose is learnt to have been denied a ticket because of a pending sexual harassment case, Kovalam MLA M Vincent has been retained, though he too faces a similar case. CPI(M) rebel P K Sasi, whom the Congress is backing in Ottapalam, had also faced an allegation of misconduct from a party colleague.The Congress has fielded former MLA K S Sabarinathan against state BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar in Nemom. Former minister N Sakthan, a key face from the Nadar community, is the candidate in Neyyattinkara. Another former minister, V S Sivakumar, is the candidate in Aruvikkara, while former MLA T Sarathchandra Prasad has been fielded from Kazhakkoottam. These four seats are in Thiruvananthapuram district, with Nemom and Kazhakkoottam at the top of the BJP’s electoral ambitions. The outcome of these seats in the state capital is crucial to the Congress’s plans of making a comeback. At present, out of 14 seats in the district, the party has only one legislator.One of the interesting electoral contests may unfold in Aranmula, where Youth Congress leader Abin Varkey will take on BJP heavyweight Kummanam Rajasekharan and Health Minister Veena George of the CPI(M). Of the Congress’s 92 candidates, only eight are women.