Cooperative CS Wycliffe Oparanya [OPARANYA/X]
ODM sources hope giving Western the second-highest office could help Ruto counter the growing influence of Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna and his Linda Mwananchi movement.
The proposal gained fresh momentum over the weekend when National Assembly Minority Leader stirred debate over Oparanya’s suitability for the position, coinciding with one of Sifuna’s biggest political rallies in Western.
"UDA should produce the president while ODM will produce the DP, and we will present Wycliffe Oparanya," National Assembly’s Minority Whip Junet Mohamed said during a rally in Malava on Sunday.
Junet is no ordinary member of ODM.
He is deeply connected within the establishment and his endorsement, now the second time, could signal real 2027 political game plan.
Several ODM leaders from Western have already publicly backed Oparanya for the position, arguing that his inclusion on the Ruto ticket would give the region a direct stake in the next administration.
The same has been echoed by Khwisero MP Christopher Aseka who described Oparanya as the best choice for ODM to run alongside Ruto.
"As ODM, we have agreed that President Ruto is our candidate in the 2027 general election. But we have also said that the deputy president must come from ODM, and the only person qualified for that position is Wycliffe Oparanya," Aseka said.
Sources within ODM have however intimated that the party is yet to settle on a name for Ruto’s running mate.
“Yes, ODM is pushing for power-sharing formula where if they produce the candidate then we bring the deputy but we have not sat and agreed as a party on the name,” a senior official of the Orange Party told the Star.
Oparanya has insisted that he is not preparing to abandon ODM, saying he intends to strengthen the party and work towards an ODM-UDA political arrangement.
"When people came to me saying Luhyas should separate because ODM had become a Luo party, I told them to wait. We started ODM together in 2005 and, out of respect for the late Raila Odinga, I cannot leave the party," he said.
ODM’s new strategy offers Ruto an alternative to the current political equation should he conclude that a running mate from Western would provide a stronger electoral coalition.
The development comes against the backdrop of a changing political landscape in the region, where Sifuna has been building the Linda Mwananchi movement around a grassroots-driven campaign and positioning himself as a prominent voice of the anti-Ruto camp.
Sifuna's growing visibility has unsettled established political calculations in Western and observers believe that having a running mate from the region, is the the only option to counter the senator.
For ODM, Oparanya’s elevation could help counter Sifuna's growing appeal by presenting voters with another Luhya political option.
But according to political analyst Martin Andati, having Oparanya as Ruto’s running mate will do little to check Sifuna’s growing dominance of the region.
Andati compared such thinking to the 2002 matrix when Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi joining then KANU candidate as running mate did not change the voting pattern of the region.
“Naming Oparanya will not change the region, Luhyas have had running mattes for long,” Andati said.
“If you have Sifuna as running mate and Oparanya as running mate as well, they (Luhyas) will go to Sifuna side.”
“Having Oparanya as running mate will just be like that of Mudavadi of 2002.”
ODM had previously suggested former Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho as a possible Ruto running mate.
The shift towards Oparanya points to an evolving calculation within the party as the political temperature in Western rises.
There is widespread speculation within political circles that Deputy President Kithure Kindiki may not automatically retain the position in 2027, particularly after the UDA loss in the Ol-Kalou parliamentary by-election.
That gives the Oparanya proposal greater strategic weight.
If Ruto ultimately decides that his 2027 ticket needs a new regional balance, Western could become one of the most fiercely contested blocs in the negotiations.
But Oparanya is unlikely to be the only name on the table as allies of National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula'sare already lobbying for him, creating a potential contest between two senior Western politicians for the same prize.
For Ruto, the attraction of a Western running mate would be the possibility of neutralising Sifuna wave while expanding the geographical reach of his re-election coalition.
For ODM, backing Oparanya could be a way of ensuring that the party does not surrender Western's political space to Sifuna and the emerging united opposition.
A recent Infotrak survey gave Kindiki the lead as the preferred running mate for Ruto, with 34 per cent support.
Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga came second with 11 per cent, while ODM leader Oburu Odinga ranked third with five per cent.
INSTANT ANALYSIS
The proposition, to Oparanya, could represent a return to the centre of national succession politics after years of operating as one of ODM's most influential regional figures.
