THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former member of Parliament V. S. Sivakumar will be the Congress candidate for the byelection to the Lok Sabha from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency.

Announcing his candidature at a press conference here on Monday, KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala said the KPCC had unanimously recommended his name and Congress president Sonia Gandhi had approved the recommendation on Monday.

Mr. Chennithala said Mr. Sivakumar, who was defeated by the late P. K. Vasudevan Nair (CPI) in the constituency last time, was being fielded again considering his chances of victory in the changed circumstances.

The contributions Mr. Sivakumar made for the development of Thiruvananthapuram when he was a Member of Parliament would stand him in good stead in the fight. LDF leaders did little for the city and suburbs when they represented the constituency, Mr. Chennithala said.

He said that during the 2004 elections, the people had not thought that the UPA would come to power. Now, they would be electing a representative who would support the Government at the Centre. Though Kerala had elected 18 members belonging to the Left, they had so far not taken up a single issue together for the benefit of the State.

Asked whether Mr. Sivakumar would be made a Minister at the Centre if he won the elections, the KPCC president said it was a matter to be decided by the Prime Minister. He maintained that the Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran) would not be a factor that would influence the outcome of the bypoll "though its supporters will be around." The LDF, he said, was planning to continue the adjustments it had for the elections to the local self-governments. The status of BJP was something granted by the CPI (M). Only the CPI (M) was saying that it was a force. The BJP, he added, would be getting only half the votes it polled in 2004 this time.

Mr. Chennithala said he had sought an inquiry by the Government into the receipt of foreign funds for the People's Planning Programme. The CPI (M) had an obligation to disclose how the funds received from foreign countries were spent. The issue could not be settled by an inquiry by the

CPI (M) Polit Bureau alone. Only a comprehensive probe would bring out the full facts. It was for the Government to decide the mode of inquiry.

The KPCC president said the investigation of the attack on Bishop's House at Neyyattinkara should be entrusted to the Crime Branch. The local people did not trust an inquiry by the local police and there were allegations that the local leadership of the CPI (M) was involved in the incident.

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