Shashi Tharoor to meet people, incorporate their views in UDF manifesto

Congress MP ShashiTharoor has been given the crucial task of meeting people fromvarious walks of walksof life, including the youth, andincorporate their views while drawing up the ''People'smanifesto'' of the UDF opposition in poll-bound Kerala.

A decision in this regard was taken at the first meetingof theElection Management and Strategy Committee held here onSaturday.

Tharoor, who is also a member of the 10-membercommittee,constituted by Congress President Sonia Gandhi recently,willbe meeting people inThiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Ernakulam,Palakkad and Kozhikode districts, Committee Chairman OommenChandy told reporters after the meeting.

He will be holding talks with various sections of thepeople on the problems being faced by them which would bereflected in the manifesto.

The manifesto should reflect the needs of the people,Chandy, a former chief minister said.

More seats would be given to youth, women and thecriteria of selecting candidates would be based on theirwinnability, he added.

Leader of Opposition, Ramesh Chennithala will be leadinga Kerala yatra ahead of the assembly polls, which would beflagged off by Chandy from Manjeswaram in Kasaragod districton January 31.

Asked about reports of a miffed K V Thomas eyeing the LDFcamp if denied ticketin the coming polls, Chandy said Thomaswas a senior Congress leader and was very much in the party.

''He is in the Congress and will continue to be in theparty. There is no doubt'', he said.

Thomas, who had reached the state capital from Ernakulamand is understood to have held talks with senior AICCleaders,later told reporters that he had lodged his''genuinecomplaints''with the party leaders.

I am a congressman, he said when asked if he was eyeingthe rival camp.

On selection of candidates, Chennithala said informaldiscussions are going on with coalition partners. The committee, which includes KPCC President, MullapallyRamachandran, Leader of Opposition, Ramesh Chennithala, AICCOrganisational secretary, K C Venugopal and AICC Secretary incharge of Kerala, Tariq Anwar will be meeting frequently todiscuss matters related to electioneering, coordination andformulation of election strategies.

Besides Tharoor, MPs K Muraleedharan, K Sudhakaran andKodikunnil Suresh and former KPCC president, V M Sudheeran,are the other members of the panel.