Thaindian News

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 3 (IANS) Anoop Jacob, the son of late Kerala minister T.M. Jacob, plans to contest the Piravom assembly seat represented by his father.

Jacob, 61, the state’s food and civil supplies minister, passed away Sunday night.

His 34-year-old son is set to step into his father’s shoes.

“I knew what was in Jacob’s mind all these years. To see his wish become a reality, we have decided that the best person to contest his seat is none other than his son,” Johnny Nellore, chief of Kerala Congress-Jacob, said after a meeting of office bearers of the party.

“We will now meet Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, state Congress president Ramesh Chenithala to convey what transpired at our party meeting today. All of them have made it clear that the seat belongs to our party,” said Nellore.

Anoop Jacob is a law graduate and has been heading the youth wing of the party for the last 10 years.

Ahead of the April 2011 assembly polls, Jacob had bargained hard with the Congress party for a seat for his son. The demand was turned down and the Congress was willing to give only three seats.

Of the three seats that was given to the party, only Jacob managed to scrape through with a slender margin of 157 votes.

The request for making Anoop Jacob a minister before he contests the polls is unlikely as the chief minister has already taken over the food and civil supplies portfolio.