Second chance unlikely

The Congress high command is unlikely to oblige veteran party leader K Karunakaran,who has been lobbying hard for one of the three Rajya Sabha seats for which elections will be held on February 13. Given the present composition of the Kerala legislature,the Opposition UDF can win only one out of the three seats. In 2005,Karunakaran had quit the Congress to launch a new party. He also quit the RS seat to which he had been nominated by the Congress in 2004. About a year back,he returned to the Congress. But party chief Sonia Gandhi is no mood to entertain his plea for a seat in the RS. While the seat held by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi is up for election on February 13,the party high command is waiting for Ravi to make up his mind. The minister has evinced interest in contesting the Lok Sabha elections,but is not averse to returning to the Upper House too.