Kenny Lalsingh back on the campaign trail

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Parent Category: Jan 2012

Category: Week end Jan 14th, 2012

Published on Sunday, 22 January 2012 15:42

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The main opposition New National Party (NNP) is said to be “eyeing” a former government minister as its candidate to try and unseat Prime Minister Tillman Thomas for his rural St. Patrick East seat in the next general elections. Informed sources told THE NEW TODAY newspaper that Kenny Lalsingh who holds the post of Deputy Chairman of the party has apparently been given the green light to lead the party work in the area.

Both Prime Minister Thomas and Lalsingh were on the same side politically in 1984 when they won seats on the original NNP team headed by late Prime Minister, Herbert Blaize. The two broke away from NNP in 1987 along with former government ministers George Brizan and Dr.Francis Alexis to form the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Lalsingh eventually moved out of Congress after the party’s humiliating 15-0 defeat by NNP in 1999. According to a well-placed source, Lalsingh was seen over the Christmas holiday period going around the St. Patrick East constituency with key NNP political activists who are trying to “sell him” as the candidate for the main opposition grouping.

The source who spoke on condition that he was not identified said that the move seems to suggest that the NNP hierarchy has failed in its bid to get former MP for the area, Adrian “Spaceman” Mitchell to come out of retirement to challenge Prime Minister Thomas. There are unconfirmed reports that Mitchell’s mother is opposed to him returning to frontline politics.

Mitchell had defeated Prime Minister Thomas for the St. Patrick East seat in the 1995 and 1999 general elections but lost to the current Grenadian leader at the polls in 2003. The NNP turned to ex-policeman, Carl Caton to contest the seat in the last general election in July 2008 as Mitchell was overlooked.

Prime Minister Thomas was able to retain the seat that occasion. If given the nod, it will be the first time that Lalsingh will be trying to win the St. Patrick East seat.

He won the St. Patrick West seat in the 1984 and 1990 and 1995 general elections but lost the constituency in the 1999 poll to former Finance Minister, Anthony Boatswain. Lalsingh last tried his hand at electoral politics in the 2003 general elections on a Labour platform headed by Dr. Alexis when he suffered a humiliating defeat including the loss of his financial deposit for the St. Patrick West seat. Prime Minister Thomas is expected to call fresh general elections in 2013.

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