The Hindu : Kerala News : Two in the fray for top Kerala BJP post

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Sunday, Nov 05, 2006
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Kerala

Two in the fray for top Kerala BJP post

Staff Reporter

Election of BJP State president to be held in Thrissur today

THRISSUR: P.K. Krishnadas and Ettumanur Radhakrishnan are in the fray for the post of the Kerala State Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president when the time for withdrawal of nominations was over at 4 p.m. on Saturday. The election will be held here on Sunday

Mr. Krishnadas is known to be the nominee of the faction led by P.P. Mukundan, and Mr. Radhakrishnan is considered a staunch ally of the outgoing State president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai. A.N. Radhakrishnan who had filed his nomination withdrew from the fray after the nomination of Mr. Krishnadas was declared valid by the returning officer Pon Radhakrishnan.

According to party sources, 38 candidates are in the fray for 20 members of the party's national council from the State. They include C.K. Padmanabhan, O. Rajagopal and K. Raman Pillai.

Hectic efforts are on to evolve a consensus on the new president. The anti-Mukundan faction tried to get the nomination of Mr. Krishnadas declared invalid on grounds that the party constitution does not allow the secretary in charge of organisational affairs to contest for the post of State president.

But the returning officer rejected the contention by pointing out that Mr. Krishnadas has already been elected to the State council, and the objections should have been raised then.

There were reports that the anti-Mukundan faction may go to the court against the decision. But the move was dropped after it was known that such a step will invite disciplinary action from the national leadership.

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