Karunakaran sets another record
Former Kerala chief minister and Congress veteran K Karunakaran has created one more record of sorts in his public life spanning over six decades, with his
election to the Lok Sabha this week.
Karunakaran, elected from Thiruvananthapuram at the
age of 80, will be the oldest member ever representing the
state in the Lower House, and also the oldest ever newcomer from
Kerala.
He had earlier set a record in the country by being the leader of
the legislature party in Kerala assembly continuously for
nearly three decades -- from 1967 to 1995. He also holds the distinction
of being the Kerala chief minister four times. Of these, he completed
his full-term twice, a rare phenomenon in the
troubled coalition politics in the state.
While Karunakaran is the oldest among the 20-member Kerala
contingent to the Lok Sabha, 29-year-old Chengara
Surendran,
elected from Adoor on the Communist Party of India ticket, is the youngest of them
all.
Indian Union Muslim League national president G M
Banatwala, elected to the Lok Sabha for the sixth time
from Kerala, and that too from the same constituency, Ponnani, will
have the distinction of being the longest serving Lok Sabha member.
Banatwala equaled the existing record in the name of Congress
leader K P Unnikrishnan, who represented Badagara
for six times till 1996. He, however, tasted defeat in the 1996
election and was denied a ticket this time.
A record of another sort, meanwhile, is still intact in the name
of former IUML president Ibrahim Sulaiman Sait (now the Indian National
League president). He has represented Kerala in the Lok Sabha for seven
consecutive terms, but from three different constituencies -- Manjeri, Ponnani and
Kozhikode.
Next to Banatwala come two Congress members -- Professor P J Kurien
(Mavelikkara) and Mullappally Ramachandran (Kannur). Both have been
elected for the fifth time.
Two leaders -- P C Chacko (Congress, Idukki) and E Ahmed
(IUML, Manjeri) -- have scored a hat-trick by winning the current
election.
Of the 20 members who will represent the state in the next Lok
Sabha, 13 had belonged to the dissolved House.
Though 18 sitting members sought re-election, five were rejected by the
electorate. They are: Kodikunnil Suresh, Ramesh Chennithala (both
Congress), M P Veerendra Kumar (Janata Dal), K V Surendranath and Dr Sebastian Paul.
For the first time, three former state assembly speakers are
going together to the Lok Sabha: Varkala Radhakrishnan
(CPI-M, Chirayinkil), V M Sudheeran (Congress, Alappuzha) and A C
Jose (Congress, Mukundapuram).
The new Lok Sabha will have eight lawyers from Kerala, including
giant-killer P Sankaran (Congress) who unseated Veerendra Kumar by a margin of 18,276 votes.
Varkala Radhakrishnan, N K Premachandran
(Revolutionary Socialist Party, Kottayam), P C Thomas (Kerala Congress-M, Muvattupuzha),
George Eden (Congress, Ernakulam), A C Jose and E Ahmed are the other
lawyers.
A K Premajam (CPI-M, Badagara) and P J Kurian
(Congress, Mavelikkara) are two former college professors going
to the Lower House from the state.
The Lok Sabha will also see a Sanskrit scholar from Kerala, T Govindan, who won from Kasargod.
UNI
Elections '98
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