Former national cricketer, Stalin Romain is to be dropped as the Caretaker Candidate of the ruling New National Party (NNP) for the rural St. Andrew North-west seat.

Informed sources told GRENADA TODAY that a primary school teacher is now considered as the front-runner for the seat that is held by Alleyne Walker of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

The source who preferred not to be named said that Prime Minister and Political Leader of the party, Dr. Keith Mitchell has already held talks with the female teacher on the possibility of her accepting the post.

According to the source, the Grenadian leader has concluded that Romain is not the most suitable person to try and dislodge Walker who has won the seat on three previous occasions. He said after the meeting with the Prime Minister, the school teacher held private talks with a number of close associates to obtain their opinion on the issue.

"I can tell you that her main concern right now is a mortgage that she is paying back on the house. She is worried that is she leaves her job for the politics and end up on the losing side that she might lose everything", he remarked.

The school teacher is the daughter of a prominent but deceased former employee in the Ministry of Community Development. The source said that her husband is backing her to take-up on the offer made by Prime Minister Mitchell to represent the NNP in St. Andrew North west in the next election.

The move against Romain has not come as a surprise to many political observers in the country. There have been reports within the hierarchy of the NNP for sometime now that the self-styled "Caretaker Candidate" was trying to use the same tactics and campaigning style of Walker in order to defeat him for the constituency.

Meanwhile, NNP insiders are not ruling out the possibility of former Education Minister Laurina Waldron making a last minute desperate bid to get the nod from the NNP hierarchy for the seat. Waldron has confided in close aides that if she is overlooked for the seat then she might end up contesting as an independent candidate.

Prime Minister Mitchell is reportedly not inclined to run several of the losing candidates for the NNP in the 2003 poll like Waldron, Agriculture Minister Adrian "Spaceman" Mitchell (St. Patrick East) , and Cuthbert Mc Queen (St. Andrew South-east).

The school teacher is the second named civil servant who is said to be gearing up to face the electorate in the next national poll. The other is said to be an Information Officer with government who is known to be associated with the Congress party.

The officer¹s name is linked to the St. Andrew South-west seat that is held by Minister of Social Development, Yolande Bain-Horsford. Prime Minister Mitchell who has until early 2009 to remain in office, is on the hunt for a record-breaking fourth consecutive term at the head of government.